Crossover artist Jelly Roll shares stories of his life at the Iowa State Fair

The Iowa State Fair loves Jelly Roll, and Jelly Roll loves the Iowa State Fair right back.

The 39-year-old singer and rapper, whose real name is Jason DeFord, performed Saturday at the Grandstand to a sold-out crowd. Fans of all ages — 16.001 in total — turned out for the show that had everyone in the house from the general admission pit to the very back row of the stands on their feet for the hour-and-40-minute show.

"Iowa, I have been waiting on this show," he told the enthusiastic crowd.

Jelly Roll has had a big year, sweeping multiple categories at the CMT Music Awards,earning two Grammy Award nominations, and releasing top-charting songs like his collaboration with Lainey Wilson, "Save Me." The artist, who began his career in the hip-hop genre before transitioning to playing country music, brought flair to the fair both literally and figuratively, from the nature of his genre-bending music to pyrotechnic displays.

Jelly Roll opened with "The Lost," a song from his 2023 album "Whitsitt Chapel," and played four songs before addressing concertgoers while pacing from one side of the stage to the other.

"I'm sorry ya'lll I had to walk across the stage to see what it felt like to be one of the biggest concerts in Iowa State Fair history...to see what it looks like to be the only sold-out show at the Iowa State Fair," he said. "Since we are making history tonight at the historical Grandstand right here in Des Moines, I think it's a great place early in the show to play some country music."

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Jelly Roll rocks the Grandstand with hits and heartfelt stories

He continued to play hits like "Need a Favor," "Son of a Sinner," "Wild Ones," "Halfway to Hell," "Smoking Section," "I Am Not Okay," his most recent release, a raw testimonial of Jelly Roll's struggles and touching on broader themes that resonate with people who have faced similar hardships.

"I make real music for real people with real problems," he told the audience.

The audience seemed more keen on singing along to his more traditional country songs with strong choruses. This rang true when he told stories about himself between songs and how his family influenced his unique crossover musical style. His mother listened to country music like Waylon Jennings, prompting him to go into a classic country medley before getting the crowd to sing along with him to his cover of Garth Brooks' "I've Got Friends in Low Places," singing along as if it was a Jelly Roll original, and later in the show "Simple Man," as a tribute to Gary Rossington, the last surviving founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who died in 2023.

The covers continued through the night. Jelly Roll performed songs like "Boyz in the Hood" and "Ms. Jackson" to honor the rap roots that his brother bestowed on him when he was 12. He chronicled the story of looking for a skunk that seemed to be trapped in his older brother's bedroom.

"I found that skunk two years later," he said.

Jelly Roll admitted to not often commenting on politics because he is a convicted felon and cannot vote, but he did condemn the state of Iowa and his home state of Tennessee for being states without marijuana decriminalization laws, a segue into playing "Bottle And Mary Jane."

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Throughout a show filled with ripping guitars and baselines provided by Jelly Roll's band, the 6th Street Band, that vibrated the concrete, Jelly Roll continued to flex the numbers of the show and showcase his chart-topping songs, but thanked the crowd in earnest for making it happen.

"I could not believe it when I saw the State Fair lineup this year. We were the first people to sell out. I was just blown away," he said. "Thank you. I mean it from the bottom of my soul. Y'all, you changed my life. You changed my wife's life, my daughter's life, my son's life. I broke generational curses because of ya'll listening to my music...you have taken the most average, overweight, uneducated man and made him one of the biggest musicians."

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Dax makes it a memorable night for fans

Jelly Roll's gratitude was heartfelt, and he even interacted with fans, wishing them a happy birthday, telling a family that a deceased family member who was supposed to be at the night's show was there in spirit, and even signing fan art and a Caitlin Clark jersey of a young fan.

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The jersey was given to her by opening act, Dax, who also signed the jersey.

"I know it's Caitlin Clark's jersey, but I am going to sign it," Dax said.

Dax, a former basketball player himself, came on the stage clad in the jersey and gave it to the young fan early in the set before replacing it with a regular Clark T-shirt, which he mistakenly put on backwards in front of the audience.

Dax was a sensible choice as his and Jelly Roll's music are different sides of the coin. Both artists explore lyrical themes of mental health, personal struggles, and solace in religion. In his 45-minute set, he played some of his most popular tracks, like "Dear God," "Dear Alcohol," and "Joker."

The energy grew throughout his set as he appeared determined to get the audience's energy up and adequately hyping them up for the rest of the night.

Next up at the State Fair Grandstand is rock band Greta Van Fleet on Sunday at 8 p.m.

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Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and business reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Jelly Roll performs at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand with Dax