Jelly Roll Brings the Fire and Love to One of Q Casino’s Biggest Shows Ever

It didn't matter that temperatures were well into the 90s by the evening. It didn't matter that it was a Sunday evening and most had to work in the morning. Nothing stopped a crowd of 7,000 people from coming out to Q Casino's Back Waters Stage to see country/rock sensation Jelly Roll perform in Dubuque.

"This is the 16th show [in this tour], and this is the 16th sold-out crowd in a row, baby," Jelly Roll proudly boasted to an energetic crowd, who helped sell the show out in less than a day once tickets went on sale. The multi-genre singer has been making music for over 10 years, but his recent pivot to country has been met with nothing but acclaim and success that was reflected en masse on Sunday, August 20th.

Jelly Roll's "Backroad Baptism Tour" has been touring the country, and his stop in Dubuque was a reminder how quickly his ascension from underground rapper to mainstream artist has been. Joining him on the Dubuque stop of his tour was rising country artist Caitlynne Curtis and Jelly Roll's longtime friend and collaborator Struggle Jennings, who is also the step-grandson of country music legend Waylon Jennings.

Curtis took the stage at about 7pm, where she performed songs from her album Sad Girl Energy, and even did a brief cover of Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69." Curtis is a rising name in the country music sphere, and has joined Jelly Roll for several "Backroad Baptism" shows so far this year.

Following Curtis, Struggle Jennings took the stage, starting things off with "Troubadour of Troubled Souls," one of his biggest songs, and played cuts from the album of the same name as well as some newer releases. Donning a cowboy hat and flashing his chiseled physique, he looks like the poster-child for the outlaw country brand of music he makes.

Living up to the name of the tour itself, Struggle gave the crowd of thousands some words of encouragement and inspiration in between songs:

As I look around this crowd, I see the faces of people that have been to hell and back. But as I look around this crowd, I see the faces of people who never gave up.

A significant part of Jelly Roll's music, new and old, is about overcoming odds, hardships, trauma, and other unfortunate aspects of life. The chief point of motivation within his music is about not letting those difficult circumstances cripple you beyond repair. It's one of the reasons his music has resonated with people young and old.

With a vast assortment of pyrotechnics and smoke cannons lining the stage, Jelly Roll came out to a roaring round of applause and cheers at 9pm exactly. His first song, "The Lost," just happened to be the one I wanted to hear the most. A cut off his new album, Whitsitt Chapel, the song is about finding a place of comfort in those who have experienced some of the toughest circumstances in life:

I've been known to find my kind of people
That ain't at home underneath church steeples
You'd be surprised the places I find Jesus
That ain't the regular crowd

From there, Jelly cycled through songs from like "Dead Man Walking" (from his album Ballads of the Broken), his first mainstream hit "Son of a Sinner," and concluded his over-60 minute set with "Need a Favor" and "Save Me." In between his collection of originals was a few brief covers, including Eminen's "Lose Yourself" and Afroman's "Colt 45" of all songs. With the crowd singing along to "Colt 45," it was more proof to me that a certain demographic of us were born knowing all the (very vulgar) words to that "dirty rap song."

Not only was this the most well-attended Back Waters Stage show that I have been to, it was also one of the most decorated. Between the fire cannons on-stage to the gigantic TV backstage that flashed lyrics from songs on Whitsitt Chapel, Jelly Roll's concert truly felt like a unique church-like gathering in a parking lot. "I want us to sing so loud they can hear us in Illinois," he shouted at one point. The crowd was happy to oblige.

Jelly Roll's Q Casino show felt like the culmination of a summer that has been rife with big name performers and memorable concerts. Q Casino has solidified themselves as a premier venue with premier talent. This summer alone has seen the likes of Flo Rida, 3 Doors Down, Volbeat, and Darius Rucker take the stage, just to name a few.

This weekend, Q Casino's Back Waters Stage will be the site of the two-day Summer's Last Blast concert. Gates open at 5:30pm both Friday, August 25th and Saturday, August 25th with seven bands set to perform over the course of both days. The event is free to attend and all ages are welcome!

From there, Third Eye Blind is set to come to the Back Waters Stage on September 9th, with Trampled by Turtles following a week later. Tickets and more information on those shows are available on Back Waters Stage's website.