Jelly Roll is all pyro & hydro in St. Louis

Country music sensation Jelly Roll recently brought his latest tour to the Enterprise Center in St. Louis in spectacular fashion. Just days prior, Jelly Roll’s Beautifully Broken album earned the title of number one album in the country. This album, and the similarly named tour, have been hot topics of discussion in the music world lately. The country singer beat out albums by Charli XCX and Rod Wave to claim his spot at the top of the charts, and the shows he’s putting on to celebrate the achievement are as chock-full of grandiosity as you would expect.

Opening the show was near-hometown hero (from about 40 minutes outside St. Louis) and independent country artist Alexandra Kay. With a brief history in commercial voice work, Kay eventually rose to notoriety in the country music scene by collaborating with St. Louis musicians like Nelly and Huey. With a classic country sound reminiscent of Dolly Parton, Kay has now established herself as a staple in the country music world. Her performance was lively and energetic. Kay clearly loves her fans and made a point to interact with as many of them as possible throughout the show.

Next up, preparing the crowd for Jelly Roll, was Warren Zeiders, a country music singer and songwriter from Hershey, Pennsylvania. Zeiders rose to internet fame during his college years by recording and posting himself singing song covers on TikTok. His debut single, “Ride the Lightning,” earned him over 500 million views and a record deal with Warner Records. Since then, Warren has had several charting songs and released a handful of studio albums. His performance was energetic and interactive, as he followed Kay’s example and spent a lot of time connecting with the crowd.

Country fans were eating out of the palm of his hand as he commanded the stage, along with his band, who played a great set beneath the fireballs of pyro erupting around them.

The production of Zeiders’ show was impressive but paled in comparison to what the headliner, Jelly Roll, had in store. After a grand entrance and a loving embrace with his wife and son, Jelly began his set at a secondary stage near the back of the crowd. I love when artists do this—it provides so much value to ticket holders who might not be able to afford front-row seats and gives everyone a chance to see their favorite singer up close. As the show began, a massive frame resembling a house lowered down to enclose the stage. As Jelly Roll performed his first song, “I Am Not Okay,” the house erupted into flames around him, providing a striking image of the country star singing from a house ablaze. Jelly Roll’s songs often depict struggles with poverty, addiction, and self-doubt, and the symbolism of the house burning down around him as he sang was definitely not lost on the crowd.

The middle part of the show was fantastic, featuring both original songs and covers by artists like Toby Keith, Green Day, Shania Twain, and John Denver. He truly is a great performer and succeeds in relating to the crowd in a way that few performers can. However, for the sake of this review, I’m going to skip to the end of the set.

Jelly Roll ended his set with production just as insane as how he started it. But this time, instead of burning down a house, he sang his final song in the pouring rain… inside an indoor stadium. It was truly a full-circle moment, both in terms of subject matter and elemental pageantry. The song, “Save Me,” is a slow plea for the listener to do just that—save him from the vices that seem to be the only thing keeping him going. Much like the first song of the set, it’s a cry for help, but instead of the chaos of a home on fire, this one was sad and forlorn, like a puppy left out in the rain.

This was the first time I’ve ever witnessed an artist include a water element (we’ve already got pyro, so I think we can make “hydro” a thing now—thanks, Jelly Roll!).

The grandiosity of the show perfectly encapsulated the achievement of his album, which took the title of number one in the country just days before the show.

One thing is for sure: this show is not one you want to miss. Whether or not you’re a country music fan, the production and execution of the concert should be enough to convince anyone to buy a ticket!

Photography by Sean Rider

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