It’s kind of crazy to me that it’s already August and this is my first concert review of the year, but that is exactly the case. The new job has me traveling quite a bit and obviously that makes it harder for me to commit to a show too far in advance with not knowing where and when I will be in certain cities and states. The timing worked out perfect for this show though because I already had the time off request approved for the P!NK concert the day before, so I knew I would be able to stay in town for this one. Sometimes life works in the strangest ways but hey, I’ll take it. Jelly Roll’s ‘Backroad Baptism’ tour was in town, and I was actually going to be able to see it.

This adventure definitely had a rough start. What is normally a forty minute to one hour drive to the venue turned out to be just a little over two and a half hours of bumper to bumper traffic. In forty years of going to concerts at Pine Knob I’ve never had it take me that long to drive to the venue and grab a parking spot. This was Jelly Roll after all, and Jelly Roll announced that it was the fastest sell-out show of the tour. Despite leaving with plenty of time to get there and catch at least three of the four acts on the bill, the amount of time that it took to park and actually get into the venue forced us to miss the opening acts including Struggle Jennings who I was really looking forward to seeing. I was totally bummed about that. Although we didn’t get to see Yelawolf for more than the last song, we heard about half of his set from the parking lot as were rounding things up and heading in. What we could hear sounded great and the crowd was loud and into it during and between songs. So much that quite a few people actually thought that maybe Jelly Roll went on early because it sounded like the main act was on stage with how loud the crowd was. On a good note, Steve was there early with camera in hand and got us some great images of Struggle and Yelawolf.

The place was jam packed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people at a Pine Knob concert, at least not that I can remember. The love for Jelly Roll was all around that night with shirts, hats, jackets, and hoodies on full display. I even noticed a few tattoos. These people were pumped and excited to see the underdog that’s finally getting his time to shine. When the lights went down the place erupted into what was quite possibly the loudest crowd noise I had ever heard at an outdoor concert. Jelly Roll was back in metro Detroit as part of his largest headline tour to date, and everyone was ready. The next hour and fifty minutes were non-stop entertainment. A set full of well chosen songs, stories about his love for the Detroit area, and Michigan in general. Jelly offers constant reminders that there is hope, that depression, addiction and the broken feeling can be ridden from you and that everyone is worth saving and anyone can find that strength from within to be what they need to be not only for themselves, but for others as well.

There are so many things that I want to acknowledge and mention that I don’t even know where to begin. I guess I’ll just try and go in order and hit them all. The show opened with ‘The Lost’ and I was happy with that choice being one of my favorites from the new album ‘Whitsitt Chapel’. From that moment on the energy flowed and it stuck around until the very end. As the music went on, ‘Son of a Sinner’, ‘Creature’, and ‘Dead Man Walking’ had the crowsd singing almost as loud as Jelly Roll himself. He had a smile so big while those songs went on seeing the people enamored with his work. You could tell that this show, the first on the tour to sell out, being in Detroit, and his largest headline show in the area to date, meant so much to him. At times he was even overwhelmed with emotion, and we could all see and feel that. We were so proud of our ‘Underdog’, and I think he truly felt it too.

As the night ventured on, there were several other happenings that stood out and made the evening even more memorable. A little taste of some music from our very own Bob Seger, a high energy medley of rap and hip hop with some ‘Boyz N The Hood’, ‘Ms. Jackson’ and a few others. There was an emotional ten minutes or so of Jelly talking about addiction, getting help, helping yourself, being there for others that may need it. This led into the band playing an extra powerful version of his song ‘She’ which is also from the latest album. He had a break between two songs where he spoke again about something that could not be any truer. Society in general needs to stop wasting so much time and energy with marijuana. Focus on the garbage that is killing people. Focus on the Heroin and the Fentanyl, get that shit off the streets and do something that is actually going to make a difference. I couldn’t agree more. The songs just kept on coming as they went through ‘Smoking Section’, ‘Bottle and Mary Jane’, ‘Need a Favor’, and ‘Wheels Fall Off’. This brought on more positive words and a strong message about addiction and beating the evil demon that it is. It blows my mind and yet impresses me at the same time, just how humble, real, and caring this man has become. I honestly believe he’s still on this earth for a reason. I myself have even benefited from just spending 15 or 20 minutes getting to talk to him last year after I did an interview with him before his set on the Shinedown tour when it was in town. Talking to him made such a difference and was literally one of a few key happenings that honestly changed and saved my life.

As the show winded down, we still had a few more highlights to add to the memories of the night. He spoke words about just how much the state of Michigan means to him and gave a big shout out to Brent and Zach from Shinedown for not only taking him on tour last year and exposing him to so many new fans, but also for bringing him out every night to join them as they played ‘Simple Man’. The night ended with a loud and proud rendering of ‘Save Me’. Words can’t even describe the energy, the emotion and the tears that came out of the audience for that one. I personally know so many people who have came straight out to me and said, ‘that was the song that saved my life’, or ‘that was the first song that really related to me and how I felt deep down inside’.

Closing this one out is going to be emotional for me, but here goes. Let’s call it my letter to Jelly Roll. Dear Jelly, thank you for doing what you do and for being who you are. Thank you for taking us to church the other night and for caring about more than just yourself. From all of us that you’ve impressed, inspired, related too, cried with, and literally saved. Thank you. We are all so proud of you, Bubba. Keep winning those battles and overcoming those obstacles for all the underdogs. My best to you, Bunnie, and the fam. You have my love and respect until the wheels fall off.

-Howie D