Jelly Roll is officially going international!
The “Son of a Sinner” country singer has booked his first-ever international tour dates in Canada. On Monday, Jelly Roll, 39, took to his Instagram Stories to post a link for ticket sales. He’ll make his first appearance July 8 at The Meridian Centre at St. Catherines, Ontario. While the singer previously performed once in Mexico, the Canada dates mark his first official tour outside of the U.S.
The two-time GRAMMY-nominated singer will then make an appearance July 9 at the 30th annual Ottawa Bluesfest. Jelly Roll’s St. Catherines performance will benefit The Heather Winterstein Foundation. Heather Winterstein, a 24-year-old Indigenous woman, died in the waiting room of a St. Catherines hospital in December 2021. Her death sparked outrage after she was only given Tylenol and sent home during her initial visit to the hospital. When her symptoms worsened, Winterstein returned the next day, only to collapse and die in the waiting room.
“The Foundation and the family of Heather Winterstein are grateful that Jelly Roll is honoring us with his very first Canadian concert on our behalf,” said Jennifer Dockstader, the foundation’s executive director (via Canada’s NewsTalk 610). “His dedication to raising awareness, sharing his story of healing, and supporting substance use disorder treatments are a beacon of hope for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike across Turtle Island. His message brings the struggles of our loved ones into the open and helps us celebrate the healing journeys of our relatives in our community, offering opportunities for equity and reconciliation.”
Prior to booking his first international tour, Jelly Roll shared with Jon Bon Jovi for Interview Magazine that he was encountering some difficulties booking international tour dates due to his felony convictions.
“I’m so excited. We’re figuring out the final pieces of some legal puzzles for me to get overseas,” Jelly Roll told Bon Jovi, who responded with confusion. “Yeah. It’s funny, America has finally agreed to let me leave and give me a passport, but some countries won’t let me come because of my felonies.”
Jelly Roll added, “We’re working on that. I think it’s going to work in my favor.”
The country star has openly discussed his past issues with the law and drugs. He even sat before a Senate committee hearing on Capitol Hill in January to discuss the fentanyl crisis in a move many have viewed as yet another example of how the formerly struggling artist has completely turned his life around.
Monday proved to be an extra special day for Jelly Roll, who shared that his powerful new single, “I Am Not Okay,” is “the biggest release of my career.”
ET spoke to Jelly Roll at CMA Fest last weekend and he teased his latest music era, which will follow the success of his last album, 2023’s Whitsitt Chapel.
“This has been my whole life the last 11 months,” he teased to ET. “I have been drowning in this album. I’ve never wrote more songs. I’ve never took it more serious and I’m probably gonna release more music this year than I’ve ever released in a year of my career.”
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