Jelly Roll was the headliner at Country Calling Festival
Jelly Roll was the headliner at the inaugural Country Calling Festival in Maryland on October 4, and the 39-year-old singer couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he hit the stage.
Born Jason Bradley DeFord, the superstar performed his hits including “Need A Favor’ and “Save Me” for the crowds, rocking his usual uniform of a black tee, shirt and pants, paired with chunky silver jewelry.
He also made an appearance during Riley Green’s set to sing their hit collaboration “Copenhagen in a Cadillac”.
Jelly once tipped the scales at over 500lbs, but in recent years he shed nearly 200lbs, and since January 2024 he has managed to lose another 70lbs.
The singer, who has been open about his health journey, has previously credited his transformation to “water and sleep,” and his desire to live to see his children grow up.
© Ed Rode“In late 2016 I started fighting to save my own life. I lost roughly 200 lbs. It wasn’t a fast journey, it was actually quite slow,” he told fans in 2018, adding that “earlier this year I began overeating and overdrinking again, and that “it’s so hard to balance life living out of truck stops and always running late to the shows, never getting adequate sleep and all the drinking”.
“I’ve been obese since I was a small child. All I’ve ever known was being fat, and I’m [expletive] miserable,” he continued. “I wanna skydive, bungee jump, ride a bull, parasail, ride roller coasters, I want to LIVE a normal life and have a normal relationship with food.”
© Jason KempinIn the years since he has upped his fitness regime, and in May 2024 he ran the 2 Bears 5K race in Los Angeles.
“I couldn’t walk a mile when I started trying to do this back in January,” the singer told Entertainment Tonight. “So the fact that we got three-point-whatever it was done today, I feel really, really good about it. I left here feeling really motivated.”
He continued: “I think the coolest thing is how many people stopped to tell us that they were motivated by us, other big guys. It was just really cool to see – what an eclectic group of people. There was a man running in a bear suit.”
© Jason KempinHe also shared that he wants to run a half marathon in 2025; “we’re saying it right now,” he said on the Today Show.
Jelly is married to podcaster Bunnie XO, and he is dad to two children; daughter Bailee Ann and son Noah Buddy, both from previous relationships.
“My wife and I are talking about having a baby and it really made me realize, at almost 40, I was like, ‘That means I’ve got to live ’til at least 60. I’ve got to see this kid into college,'” he said on the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast.
“My plan was never to be 60. It was to be, like, 55,” he continued, “But now I’m like, ‘Well, I’d like to see my 60s.’ You know what I mean? And that really lit it up.”