Jelly Roll appears to be having the time of his life on his first-ever tour of Australia. The country superstar who was previously barred from playing international shows due to his felonious past has been tearing it up Down Under, appearing at three stops on the inaugural Strummingbird Festival on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Newcastle and Perth, as well as playing shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and the Harvest Rock festival.
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By all accounts it’s been a blast. But this week the “Son of a Sinner” singer said he hit a snag while trying to indulge in some high-end retail therapy. In an Instagram Story posted on Wednesday (Nov. 5), Jelly said he hit a Louis Vuitton store during some down time and claimed the staff treated him like he was a common criminal.
“Hey man, The Louis Vuitton in Sydney, legitimately just treated us like we were finna come in and rob that place,” Jelly said with a smile on his face as he laughed about the incident, with the store’s logo clearly displayed behind him. “I have never been looked at more like a crim… Listen, the last time I was looked at like a criminal this bad.. I was an actual criminal this bad.”
Jelly Roll, 40, announced his first-ever non-U.S. dates in June 2024 with a run of Canadian gigs, just a week after telling Howard Stern that his dozens of bids behind bars on drug charges in his youth — dating back to when he was 14 — had been keeping him from booking shows outside the lower 48.
From the looks of it, though, JR is otherwise having the very best time on his Aussie run, arguing with the locals about the inexplicable difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit, getting the obligatory snap with the Sydney Opera House in the background, falling in love with Australian football and, of course, helping his drummer do a shoey.
Jelly has two more shows left on his outing, including a Thursday (Nov. 6) gig in Townsville at Queensland Country Bank Stadium and Saturday (Nov. 8) at the Outer Fields at Western Springs in Auckland, New Zealand.
Billboard’s Live Music Summit will be held in Los Angeles on Nov. 3. For tickets and more information, click here.
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