Luke Bryan is bringing back his beachside Crash My Playa event, for the ninth year, this time with Jelly Roll headlining one of the nights, for the first time ever. Although he hasn’t gotten to know Jelly Roll very well, at least not yet, Bryan is eager to spend time with the “Son of a Sinner” singer, and is proud to give him the Crash My Playa platform for one night.
‘Jelly Roll and I have been at some events together. We hung out at a backstage festival, a month and a half ago, briefly,” Bryan shared with Everything Nash and other outlets at a recent media event. “I think Jelly Roll, what he embodies and represents, is something really, really special.”
Bryan may not have had many interactions with Jelly Roll yet, but he already knows that Jelly Roll is someone he wants to get to know better, and wants to support him and his career, in any way possible.
“Every time I’m around that guy, he’s just so intriguing, so interesting,” Bryan says. “I think his form of music, his form of country music, checks a potentially-forgotten box of people in country music. He’s able to really sing for that crowd, and that’s what makes him special. When we were calling him to come do Playa, I was like, ‘I hope he says yes.’ I think any festival that I’m a part of, that I’m putting my name in, it’s all about bringing somebody like Jelly Roll in.”
Jelly Roll is already used to performing in front of large crowds, but being at Crash My Playa will be a career first for him. Formerly incarcerated, Jelly Roll still has a felony on his record — one he hopes will one day be expunged — but it has unfortunately kept him from doing a lot of international dates.
“He called me up, he’s like, ‘Dude, I haven’t been out of the country. This will be the first time I’m getting to perform my music out of the country,’ which was really fun,” the “But I Got A Beer In My Hand” singer says. “I think what makes him special is, he is, as a fan you just see into his world, which is the world of a lot of people, and I think that’s what you have to do to rise to where he’s risen. Speak to people and tell your story honestly. He tells his story, the good, the bad, the ugly, and I think that’s what people love about him.
“Life’s journey, it’s not all squeaky clean, and no bumps in the road, and I think he lets a lot of people not feel alone,” he adds.
Bryan recently celebrated having 30 No. 1 singles. His Country On Tour wraps up on October 28. Find music and tour dates at LukeBryan.com.
Crash My Playa will be held June 17 to 20. Bryan will headline two nights, with Jon Pardi headlining one night. More information is available at CrashMyPlaya.com.
Read ‘Luke Bryan: 11 Things to Know About the Country Music Superstar’ here.
