Jelly Roll Tears Up Inviting Struggle Jennings To Make His Grand Ole Opry Debut
on Jun 01, 2024
What a special moment this must have been for the two artists and long-time friends!
Jelly Roll and his fellow rapper-turned-country-singer have been close friends for over two decades. Their bond is evident in their extensive collaborations, which include three albums released in 2017 and 2018, as well as songs dating back to 2006.
Struggle Jennings, whose real name is William Curtis Harness Jr., is also the grandson of Jessi Colter and step-grandson of Waylon Jennings.
Although Struggle Jennings has long been known as one of Nashville’s top rappers, he has returned to his roots in country music and is embarking on the next chapter of his career with a remarkable achievement in the world of country music — performing at the prestigious Grand Ole Opry.
On Friday, May 31, Struggle took to his social media accounts to share the significant moment when Jelly Roll extended the invitation for his Opry debut.
In the video he posted, Jelly Roll is visibly emotional, preparing to ask Struggle an important question, placing his hand on Struggle’s shoulder.
“This might mean more to me than you, but…” Jelly Roll started off.
You can see that Struggle was confused as to what Jelly was about to say and why he looked so emotional. In his caption on the video, Struggle even mentioned how when Jelly started crying, he was worried that they had lost another friend.
But to his surprise, Jelly only had good to share — something that you could tell Struggle wasn’t expecting.
With tears in his eyes, Jelly finally managed to say, “They’ve asked me to invite you to play the Grand Ole Opry.”
Struggle, who was clearly moved, took off his cowboy hat and rested it close to his heart with a smile on his face.
Further expressing just how amazing this moment was for the two ex-cons, Jelly laughed and said, “Aw, dude. I just kept thinking about having to speak at your court date. And you go from talking at your court date before you got sentenced to federal prison to being able to ask you to play…”
RELATED: Jelly Roll Revisits His Old Jail Cell: “This Is Jail. It Sucks.”
As if the moment couldn’t get any sweeter, Struggle pulled Jelly in for a hug that undoubtedly was a special moment for both men to appreciate their current positions in life.
“To have my best friend of 21 years invite me to the greatest achievement a country music artist could ever experience is the only thing that could’ve made this moment more special…After everything we’ve been through I hope this proves to everyone that’s going through something tough that if you just keep pushing your craziest dreams are within your reach…”
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Struggle Jennings will make his Opry debut on June 5 with two shows at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. He will perform alongside other renowned artists, including Jelly Roll himself, Cody Johnson, Rhonda Vincent, and others!
If you are interested in buying tickets, you can visit the Grand Ole Opry’s official website.
In the meantime, take a listen below to “Glitter” by Jelly Roll and Struggle Jennings to celebrate their story of redemption!
