SALEM, Oregon (KPTV) – Grammy-nominated country singer Jelly Roll performed his music to maximum security inmates at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem this week.
The star’s set list included “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash, whose lyrics he changed to “Oregon State Prison.”
“For the first time in 20 fucking years, they brought music into the prison yard,” Jelly Roll told the inmates gathered around him.
“I’m just trying to spread love,” the singer wrote in the caption of an Instagram video.
He told them: “I wrote my first song behind the walls. There is no better feeling than going back behind the wall and singing a song for all of you.”
“If you love to draw, if you love to write, if you love to love poetry, if you love to listen to music, play guitar, I just pray that you put that passion into it and live it out as best as you can,” he added.
“It felt nice to bring a little light to such a dark place. I firmly believe that when we commit crimes we should serve our time and be held accountable for our actions, but I also believe that every person deserves love, no matter how bad their decision was,” wrote Jelly Roll.
Jelly Roll stayed after his performance to talk to the inmates and sign autographs.
The Grammy-nominated singer was arrested dozens of times as a teenager and served time in prison for aggravated robbery, so he knows what the inmates go through.
“I wouldn’t be the man I am today if I hadn’t gone through what I went through,” Jelly Roll told Fox News Digital last year. “I think it gave me strength. I think it gave me my voice. It taught me a lot about overcoming. It taught me a lot about change and the ability to change.”
All rights reserved.
