Jelly Roll takes his show, stardom and influence on the road

Welcome to The Pick, The Tennessean music staff's weekly email conversation about all things you need to know — hot insider takes from Music City's legendary creative community, plus the who, what and where impacting our communities from Lower Broadway to Leiper's Fork and beyond.

I'm Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean's country music reporter.

Jelly Roll.

You're aware he has a new album and tour scheduled for the fall, right?

No, he's not touring in Nashville.

But what's as important is to note that he's become something of a Music City-to-country music-to-pop culture ambassador of sorts.

Is he the first headlining country artist to take now top-10 country radio and Billboard all-genre Hot 100 chart-topping artist Shaboozey on the road? He certainly is. Is his "I Went to College / I Went to Jail" collaborator ERNEST on those dates, too?

Absolutely.

By the time he turns 40 in December, expect that his just-released single "I Am Not Okay" will be his sixth chart-topper in the past two years — these are split between the country and rock charts. Could a pop, all-genre No. 1 be forthcoming, too? It's one of the must-watch music stories for 2024 into 2025.

Thing You Must Try To Do This Week

• Listen to Zach Bryan's fifth studio album in five years, "The Great American Bar Scene"

• Five albums, three EPs and one live album might seem like a deluge for some. Still, in the past two years, the Oologah, Oklahoma native (who just played Nissan Stadium) has seen his single "Something in the Orange" achieve top 10 status on Billboard's all-genre Hot 100 chart while his Kacey Musgraves duet "I Remember Everything" topping the Hot 100 chart and won a Grammy.
• It features collaborations with John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen. With the former, it's on Oct. 2023-recorded "Better Days." With Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Springsteen, it's their previously-performed duet "Sandpaper."

Artist Spotlight: Margo Price

More than ever, Americana-beloved rocker, Illinois native and Nashville area resident Margo Price is in control of her art and voice.

Notably, Margo Price is doing this by writing Substack updates when not covering Tom Petty songs, supporting progressive activist measures, siding with Tennessee State Rep. Gloria Johnson in her Senate race, or releasing critically acclaimed memoirs or rock albums.

Launched in April, "Rawdoggin' Reality" is, as described by the performer, "a place to share my musings, poetry, lyrics, literature and songs and connect with fellow artists and fans."

So far, she's written the essay "Why I Left Country Music & Why I'm Coming Back To Kick Its A**," thoughts about country music's role in "healing" gun violence and "(bringing America together," plus band updates, lyrics to newly-written songs and behind-the-scenes tour photography.

"Currently, in Nashville, there are two governing ideas about most things — from songs to political beliefs. The difference is generally where we place our values," Price told The Tennessean in May 2023.

"Nashville [is best as] a safe, special haven for creatively free and artistic people...We're all more similar than we think. Maybe everything had to fall apart so we could build it back up together. In 20 years, we have the opportunity to look back at this era and applaud our shared bravery to work at understanding how by not being driven by corporate greed — but also connecting and preserving our populations and their heritages — we become as close to a like-minded Nashville community as possible."

Song You Need To Hear

• Academy of Country Music and Billboard award-winner Morgan Wallen's ballad "Lies Lies Lies" was written by Academy of Country Music and Billboard award-winning songwriter Jessie Jo Dillon, alongside Josh Miller, Daniel Ross and Chris Tompkins and is a lovestruck attempt to convince a past love that he's moved on before admitting he's lying. It's a masterful bit of heart-string tugging, for sure.