On the last day of Nashville’s three-day Country Radio Seminar (CRS), Jelly Roll and Eric Church sat down for an in-depth conversation about their early careers, the unconventional ideas that have set them apart, and the unwavering support they’ve shown each other throughout their journeys.

The room full of country radio personalities, program directors, sales managers, and members of the media and more gathered to listen as the pair of superstars turned back the curtain to reveal aspects of their lives and personalities that we often don’t get to see when they are on stage. The hour-long conversation was mostly filled with silence, as the audience made sure to let the weight of their words to settle, but moments of laughter also crept in during the meaningful exchange of questions.

Church kicked things off by praising Jelly Roll and recalling the talent he saw in his fellow singer/songwriter very early on. It’s known that Church is an innovative businessman who tends to go by the beat of his own drum when it comes to his career, and this includes performing the majority of his headline shows for two-three hours by himself instead of having an opener. However, back in 2023, he saw something so special in Jelly Roll that he asked the genre-bending artist to open for him at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington as part of The Outsiders Revival Tour. This was a moment Jelly Roll will never forget.

“Nobody has given me more advice than you behind the scenes. You have been so good to me, privately, publicly, just in every way,” Jelly Roll said of his friend. “And when I say advice, I mean real deal.”

The night before this memorable performance was set to take place, the artists were getting to know each other with a rowdy night out. The next morning, while in “agonizing pain” due to his hangover, Jelly Roll recalls being hit with a wave of fear that Church actually hated him. Luckily, that fear was quickly replaced by excitement when he found out The Chief had invited him to jump on stage with him later that night.

“Right then I went somewhere between really excited, ‘like Eric Church likes me,’” Jelly Roll exclaimed, “To, ‘God, I’m too hung over to sing on such a big stage’…I did go sing with him. It was one of the greatest, I sung with him a few times now. It’s been awesome.”

This is where their friendship truly began. Just as Church had predicted at the time, Jelly Roll was destined to soar up the rankings of the industry because he exudes the kind of raw authenticity that he knows fans crave.

“I think the honesty, disarmingly honest, is how I would describe you, which is what I love about you, has been the biggest…as radio and as the industry what we should know is that’s what fans gravitate to,” Church told the room. “That’s what they want. They want somebody that will be honest with them about their flaws, about their shortcomings, about their triumphs, and I think a lot of the time we try to make this fabricated, in a way. We try to make it look like it’s not and you’re the exact opposite of making it look like it’s not,” he added while looking to Jelly Roll with the utmost sincerity.

Throughout the afternoon, the pair continued to share stories from their individual careers, including the time Eric Church released a record to fans without telling his record label, and how Jelly Roll followed in his mother’s footsteps by acting as the “preacher” in his prison unit, who brought people together through the power of music.

Jelly Roll explained that his passion for music and storytelling began during his upbringing in Antioch, TN, when his mother would summon the whole neighborhood together with her “playlists.” Similarly, when the award-winning artist was in jail, he found ways to make music using just the plastic utensils they were provided and the booming sounds he was able to create by hitting the walls.

“I never thought I would give jail credit for anything, but it made me learn to be adaptive…I was in the violent offender gang unit at CCA, and I went into what they call the utility room, which is where they have three microwaves and a trash. You can heat up your soups or your items from commissary. And I went in there because it had a plexiglass window when you hit it, because of the utility room, it’s all concrete and steel in there, it would echo. It had this really just big boom,” he explained.

Jelly Roll took this beat and added to it by tapping a spork on the counter, thus creating his own sound that he and others could then add lyrics to.  

“By the time I’m done beating on this window for a few seconds, the whole unit’s turned the TV off, quit playing cards, and they’re standing on tables. I was like, oh, it’s fixing to f**king happen. So I’m just like, I just start rapping about some s**t and I start singing a little chorus, and then some guy comes over and freestyles…right then I was like, oh no, I can bring this unit together. You know what I mean? Just like it brought my house together, just like it brought the neighborhood together, it’s like I was the preacher, but it was the easiest sermon ever. It was the music. I just had to be the conductor.”

This creativity eventually turned into a Friday tradition that was carried on in that facility for years after Jelly Roll left. After hearing that story Church explained that that is the same kind of innovation and talent he saw from Jelly Roll right from the start.

To wrap up the conversation, the “Springsteen” singer asked Jelly Roll where he sees himself in five years. He stopped for a moment to think, and then listed off a few important things on his bucket list, which includes continuing to advance in his health journey and reach his “fighting weight,” put out “a couple” more albums and even expand his acting resume to a few feature films. Lastly, Jelly Roll expressed his desire to simply lean into Eric Church’s advice even more and grow as an artist under that mentorship.

“I think the one thing that people miss in the Eric Church business sometimes is just how, that’s why I came to you for a mentorship, you’re the most savvy businessman in the music business. I’ve met with ’em all. I’ve talked to all these artists. Nobody compares to the way you handle your business and build brands,” he gushed.

Church then added on to the high praise, noting that he will always be there for Jelly Roll.

The “Save Me” singer is currently preparing to serve as a special guest on Post Malone’s The BIG ASS Stadium Tour in addition to addition to headlining an extensive run of shows throughout Canada this spring. He will also act as the first “artist in residence” on the upcoming season of American Idol.

Meanwhile, Eric Church is teasing new music and gearing up to perform in London this May.

The post Jelly Roll And Eric Church Share Untold Stories Of Their Careers During Powerful Conversation appeared first on Country Now.