Jelly Roll is turning his Tennessee property into a place of healing for addicts and hurting hearts, on the soil that once held his darkest days.
Before he became one of country music’s most beloved and raw voices, Jelly Roll — born Jason DeFord in Antioch, Tennessee — lived a life shaped by addiction, incarceration, and despair. Arrested as early as age 14 and ultimately jailed roughly 40 times for various drug-related and violent offenses, his early years were far removed from the spotlight of the stage. He has spoken openly about using and selling substances like cocaine, Xanax, and cough syrup, and how the turning point for him came when he became a father while behind bars. In his own words:
“I had to learn that you could drink alcohol without doing cocaine. … There was a long time where I just assumed … we only drank to do cocaine.” It was through music — writing, rapping, singing — that he found the possibility of hope. He told
“The Field of Grace”: A Farm Built for Healing
In a deeply emotional interview, Jelly Roll revealed his next chapter: on the very land in Tennessee that once held memories of his past, he plans to build a recovery-center for mental health and addiction, to be called
The center is envisioned to include:
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Therapy and mental-health support, led by licensed professionals
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Creative recovery programs, including a recording studio where residents can write and share their stories through music
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Community support, peer groups, and partnerships with local charities and medical organisations
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A safe refuge for those seeking a way out of darkness, built on land that symbolizes second chances
A Mission Born from Pain
The idea didn’t surface overnight; it came in quiet reflection on his Tennessee land — land he once viewed as a symbol of success, now reimagined as a place of giving back. As he shared:
“I looked around and realised — this land changed my life. Now it’s time it changes somebody else’s.”
He purchased over 500 acres of property in Tennessee with his wife, Bunnie Xo, which they’ve begun exploring as both a personal sanctuary and for this new vision.
Jelly Roll emphasises this is not about charity alone — it’s about accountability, atonement, and transformation. “You don’t forget the faces of the people you left behind,” he said. “The ones who didn’t make it out.”
Faith, Family, and Second Chances
Along this journey, Jelly Roll credits his wife Bunnie Xo and his fans for helping him find strength, purpose, and direction. Through impactful songs like “Save Me” and “Need a Favor,” he’s turned personal confession into connection — sharing his story in ways that resonate deeply with millions.
“Sometimes,” he said, “you don’t need a therapist first — you need a microphone.”
His move into the farm-sanctuary space is also rooted in his faith and belief in second chances: his own life a testimony to redemption not being just possible, but real.
Fans Call It His “Real Legacy”
The announcement of The Field of Grace shot across social platforms: hashtags like #JellyRollHeals and #FieldOfGrace trended as fans hailed the move as “the truest redemption story in country music.”
One fan wrote, “He’s doing what most artists only sing about,” while another added, “He’s proof that no matter how lost you are, you can still come home.” Even fellow artists and industry figures have privately expressed support, recognising this isn’t just a side project—it’s a deeply rooted mission.
Building Bridges, Not Headlines
Despite the potential for media buzz, Jelly Roll insists this effort isn’t about publicity. He’s financing the construction himself and is partnering with counsellors, therapists, and people who’ve walked similar paths of recovery to bring it to the ground.
“If one kid doesn’t pick up a needle because of this,” he said, “then every brick is worth it.”
“You can’t teach compassion,” he added. “But you can live it.”
His vision: go beyond the stage, beyond the song, and build a place where pain doesn’t get the last word.
From Bars to Bridges
In a poetic full-circle moment, the man who once sat behind prison bars now uses the “bars” in his songs—and soon, the walls of his center—to build bridges of hope.
“I built a career on pain,” Jelly Roll said. “Now I’m building a place where pain doesn’t have the last word.”
For fans who’ve followed his ascent, this isn’t just another success story—it’s living proof that redemption isn’t something you earn once; it’s something you give every day.
24-Year-Old Man With A Lot Of Tattoos Gets Rid Of Them For His Daughter. Wait Till You See How He Looks Today
In an effort to start again, Ethan “ModBoy” Bramble is receiving laser surgery on his face. Bramble has more than 200 tattoos covering his body.
At the tender age of eleven, the American opted to have his ears stretched. Since then, he has undergone a number of modifications, including the removal of his belly button and the acquisition of a split tongue.
On the No Filter series of LadBibleTV, the tattoo enthusiast confessed that he had shelled out about $60,000 AUD (about £36,000) for his alterations.
However, the new dad did confess that he felt remorse for the scorn he had received from others due to his peculiar hobbies.
“I guess you could say I regret some tattoos. Not just regret, I think there’s a difference between regret and wanting to be perceived differently,” he confessed.
Ethan continued by saying that he is anxious about going about his day-to-day life, such as bringing his little daughter to school, without fear of criticism.
Also, he hinted that he wouldn’t want his kid to follow in his footsteps and get a face tattoo when he was young.
“The face is a big thing that can lead to so many – for some people, not everyone – can lead to a lot of problems for yourself, which I probably wouldn’t want my daughter to have to deal with until she was a bit older,”
he continued.
“I wish that I had not gone as hectic as I did on my face.”
Ethan went on and admitted that he has been undergoing excruciating laser surgery to try to tone down his extreme look.
He said: “I’ve been getting laser [surgery], or have been, for pretty much 12 months… We do it in sections, but I’ve probably gone over the full thing six or seven times.
“I started getting it done because of the anxiety and stuff I was getting… Mental stuff is a funny thing to pin down, but I want to think that a lot of the anxiety was from just having a face full of tattoos.
“I’m happy with the way that I look, but I’m also happy with the mentality that over the next two years, my face tattoos are going to become less and less and less. I’m just clearing the canvas.”
Problems in the past…
On Wednesday, the Victorian Police said that they had issued a warrant for his arrest, stating that Bramble was well-known to visit the Preston, Windsor, Ringwood, and CBD areas of Melbourne.
However, Bramble, who hails from the Central Coast of New South Wales, claimed he was no longer in Victoria and that he didn’t anticipate being extradited by police.
Bramble initially made fun of the police by joking about his arrest warrant: “I’ve never once seen him in my life.”
Hours later, the 23-year-old seemed to mock police once more by live-broadcasting a video on Instagram in which he expressed uncertainty about whether or not to report for duty.
The young father pondered that if he ran away to NSW, he didn’t think he would be extradited back to Victoria.
Being a well-known but controversial member of the ‘Blokes and Their Ice-Creams’ Facebook page, the highly tattooed man is wanted for what he said: ‘Nananana you’ll never catch me. Cream of the bros.
“P.s if I go down I’m taking all you biccie first biters down with me.”
While certain members promptly chastised Bramble for his purported offenses, others urged him to ‘cream on’ and elude detection.
Bramble claimed he was “going home to eat lasagne” and considered his choices before being observed requesting a ticket to “Rosehill” on a bus.
“Well, now you know where I live,”
he grinned at the camera.
The 23-year-old’s last known address in NSW is the Rosehill neighborhood of western Sydney, according to AAP.
It’s unclear if NSW Police has been contacted by Victoria Police to speak with Bramble.
He addressed the almost 200-person audience, saying, “I smoke too much, I drink too much, I don’t want to go to jail,” before ending the livestream on Wednesday.
“Hopefully I don’t get life in prison, later crew.”
In a recent Facebook post, Bramble appeared to be nodding along to the anti-authoritarian rap song F**k the Police by N.W.A. while waiting for a bus.
According to a Victoria Police spokesman, Bramble’s warrant was issued when he neglected to show up for his court appearance at the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court.
The Melbourne West Police Station and the Victoria Police refused to say what Bramble was wanted for.
Modboy previously garnered media attention when he appeared on Studio 10 and displayed his most recent body alterations, which included a silicon spider embedded beneath the flesh of his hand.
He said that the physical changes will make him “the coolest grandpa ever” to the Studio 10 hosts.
At the age of eleven, Bramble experimented with body modification by stretching his ears and became fascinated with tattoos.
He began hanging out at tattoo parlors at the age of 13, where he was exposed to more radical body alteration techniques.
He describes having his tongue split when he was 17 as the most drastic adjustment he has ever experienced. He was forced to sleep upright for five days while in agonizing pain in order to prevent choking on his own saliva.
Bramble asserts that he has undergone over 40 physical changes.
This involves having his tongue split, his labret (the area beneath the bottom lip) sliced, his nostrils punched, his bellybutton removed, his eyeballs tattooed, and each ear chopped so that half is missing.
“I’ve always been into different stuff to all the other kids, from a young age I’ve had full blackout tattoos, scarification, eye balls tattooed, ears chopped off, tongue split, navel removal,”
he had previously told Daily Mail Australia.
Having troubled past, from what we can see, Mr. Bramble turned out to be a good dad!
