Jelly Roll‘s first time meeting Cody Johnson was so epic, it led to the “Save Me” star having a framed picture of the Texas traditionalist in his home.

Jelly told the story while chatting with CMT recently. The moment happened at the 2024 CMT Music Awards.

“When I won the first award, I came down the steps, and the first person I seen was Cody Johnson,” Jelly recalls.

For Johnson, it might have been just a meeting of a new artist, but it meant way more than that to Jelly Roll.

“He gave me a hug like we grew up together,” Jelly remembers. “He said, ‘Man, I’m so proud of you dude.'”

Jelly Roll was very much a country newcomer at the time, so this really warmed him up.

“First person I seen in the moment could’ve looked at me like, ‘Why is this dude here?’ But instead it was just this genuine Texas cowboy that was just lit up like a Christmas tree for me,” he says.

A photographer happened to snap a picture of Johnson and Jelly together.

“That picture, I think about that picture all the time, because somebody caught us in the moment and we turned around and took a picture,” he says.

“That’s one of those I’ll have framed in my house until I die.”

Are Cody Johnson & Jelly Roll Still Friends?

Johnson wasn’t blowing smoke — since that photo was snapped, they’ve stayed buddies.

They were spotted backstage together again last November, and Johnson remarked: “I’m the peanut butter, he’s the jelly. Put some bread on it.”

How Long Has Jelly Roll Been in Country Music?

Jelly released his debut country single, “Son of a Sinner,” in March of 2022. He has since then he has released two full-length country albums, Whitsitt Chapel (2023) and Beautifully Broken (2024).