Jelly Roll says he's willing to walk away from music entirely if that's what he feels called to do, according to a new interview shared on social media Sept. 13. Speaking with Y'all Access Radio's Kelly Sutton backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, the singer suggested his next move may not involve music at all.
"Everything that Jason [DeFord] or Jelly Roll wanted to do in the music business, I've done now, so at this point, I really need to go talk to God and see if he wants me to stick around, or what he wants me to do next," Jelly Roll said.
He went further, describing a scenario in which he could leave the spotlight altogether. "If God tells me to go work at a homeless shelter in Paducah, Ky., I'm outta here … y'all will never see me again, and I'll be working at a … he gave me everything I ever wanted, man — Grammys, ACMs, CMAs, I'm a member of the Grand Ole Opry, like God has done it," he said.
Jelly Roll's career has included three Grammy Awards, a chart-topping album on the Billboard 200, membership in the Grand Ole Opry, and 22 songs that have landed on the Billboard Hot 100. He most recently won the Grammy for best contemporary country album for "Beautifully Broken" at the 68th Grammy Awards, held Feb. 1, 2026, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Despite the professional highs, the past several months have brought personal upheaval. Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo announced their divorce after nearly a decade of marriage. The first six shows of his tour with Post Malone were also postponed, which Post Malone attributed to a scheduling conflict tied to working on new music. Jelly Roll still launched The Little Ass Shed Tour in May, featuring artists including Kashus Culpepper.
In the same interview, Jelly Roll indicated he's planning to step back from touring for a while. "This is deeper than the road. Me being at the Opry tonight is a fluke," he said. "I'm fixing to take just some time off. I just gotta go do a little bit of work on myself to make sure that I'm all the way ready. I'm completely sober, though. I'm clear-headed, and I'm deep in therapy, I'm deep in my Bible, but I think that I gotta separate from the chaos of the business for me to really hear what what God wants for me to do next."
His appearance at the Opry was itself a surprise, made to help honor the late Dolly Parton. Jelly Roll joined Carly Pearce for a performance of Parton's "9 to 5" during the tribute.
Photo: Setoxxx, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
