Jelly Roll Pauses His Nashville Concert, Listens to a Fan’s Story, and Instantly Offers to Cover Their College Tuition—A Powerful Reminder That He’s Never Forgotten His Roots
Jelly Roll has always carried the weight of his past with him, using his rise to fame as a way to give hope to others. That compassion shined through once again this past June when his heartfelt act of kindness changed a fan’s life forever.
On the evening of June 17, 2024, the Nashville skyline played host to a powerful night of music and emotion. Jelly Roll headlined a free concert for 107.5 The River’s River On The Rooftop series at Skydeck on Broadway. Accompanied by fellow artists Haven Madison and Jessie Murph, who joined him onstage for their joint 2023 hit “Wild Ones,” the event was already destined to be memorable. But no one could have predicted what would unfold.
Among the crowd that night was 18-year-old Joy Gadalla, whose path in life had been anything but easy. Her family had emigrated from Egypt in pursuit of the American dream. Joy, determined and resilient, graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA despite years of bullying that led her to finish her studies online. Inspired by Jelly Roll’s story of redemption, she enrolled at Belmont University with aspirations of becoming a criminal justice lawyer. But financial struggles threatened to stop her journey before it could truly begin.
“I broke down. I felt overwhelmed. I paused to breathe, prayed, and somehow, I knew everything would be okay,” Gadalla later shared. “I had faith that God would take care of the rest.”
That same night, she stood in line with her cousin for over five hours, craving a moment of escape after a tough month caring for her grandmother. She never expected what would come next. Standing just a few feet away from the stage, Joy held up her phone with a message written across the screen: “Please pay my tuition.”
Following his opening song, Jelly Roll noticed the message. Rather than brushing it off, he addressed her directly from the stage. “Tonight, you have a chance to change your life,” he told her. “I’m sending someone from my team to talk with you—about your college, your GPA—and if everything checks out, we’re going to help you finish school.” The crowd erupted, not just from excitement, but from witnessing genuine, unscripted compassion.
Though specific details following the concert are still being finalized, Jelly Roll’s team did reach out to Joy after the show. The encounter wasn’t orchestrated or planned—it was purely a moment of human connection that happened in real time, witnessed by a crowd of thousands.
Jelly Roll hadn’t known her backstory—that she was in the early stages of sobriety, that she had been overcoming hardship and isolation, or that he had inspired her perseverance. But he understood the weight of financial hardship all too well. He once shared how no one had offered to help him with school, and he’d never gone as a result. That empathy moved him to act without hesitation.
For Jelly Roll, acts of generosity like this aren’t rare. In 2022, he collaborated with the local nonprofit Impact Youth Outreach to support at-risk youth. In another memorable moment, he went viral for gifting a $1,000 tip to a young Whataburger employee to share with his coworkers, demonstrating his ongoing commitment to lifting others up wherever he can.
That night in Nashville was more than a concert. It was a reminder of how music can bring people together, how stories connect us, and how compassion can ripple through a crowd and change a life. Jelly Roll didn’t just sing that night—he listened, responded, and gave someone the hope they’d been praying for.
