Jelly Roll may have wrapped up his Beautifully Broken tour and tossed his cell phone into the Cumberland River after his final show in Nashville last month—but stepping out of the spotlight entirely? Not so easy when you’re one of country music’s biggest stars.
This week, the gravel-voiced hitmaker found himself back on stage—not in a stadium, but in a honky tonk.
On a laid-back night in downtown Nashville, Jelly Roll rolled into Kid Rock’s bar with some high-profile company: comedians Tony Hinchcliffe and Bert Kreischer, along with the bar’s namesake himself. The plan might’ve been to lay low, but when music’s in your blood, the pull of the stage is hard to resist.
Jelly joined the house band Hippies & Cowboys for a surprise performance of his chart-topping hit “Save Me.” The crowd—already buzzing from the celebrity sightings—erupted. But that was just the beginning.
Moments later, he called up his crew to join in for a little impromptu southern rock jam session.
Hinchcliffe, who fans recently saw bang out a killer drum performance of “Simple Man” in Austin during one of Jelly’s shows, once again hopped behind the kit. Bert Kreischer—true to form—ripped off his shirt. And then came Kid Rock, stepping up to round out the wild ensemble.
Together, the crew tore through Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” and Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See,” turning an ordinary Wednesday into a memory that lucky fans won’t soon forget.
That’s the magic of Broadway in Nashville—you never know what kind of show you’re going to stumble into. Kid Rock is a regular presence at his bar and has been known to hop onstage at a moment’s notice. Eric Church has been doing the same across the street at Chief’s, often joining fans post-show for casual piano sets and bar hangs during his To Beat the Devil residency.
Nashville may have its share of growing pains, but moments like these still make it one of the most exciting cities in music. From seeing Jelly Roll jam with comedians to catching Alan Jackson on a quiet night at AJ’s Good Time Bar, the city offers those once-in-a-lifetime musical surprises you can’t find anywhere else.
And if this week’s anything to go by? Broadway’s still got plenty of surprises left.
