Is An Australian Jelly Roll Tour Being Hampered By His Felonies?

Jelly Roll has hinted at the desire to book international tour dates, but he believes that his past felonies have impacted his ability to perform overseas.

In a new interview with rockstar Jon Bon Jovi for Interview Magazine, the pair discussed Jelly Roll’s rapid ascent to superstardom when Bon Jovi asked if the Son Of A Sinner singer had taken his show overseas yet.

Jelly Roll responded, “Not yet. I’m so excited. We’re figuring out the final pieces of some legal puzzles for me to get overseas.”

After Bon Jovi quizzed him further on the “archaic” rules to enter some countries, Jelly Roll continued, “Yeah. It’s funny: America has finally agreed to let me leave and give me a passport, but some countries won’t let me come because of my felonies. We’re working on that. I think it’s going to work in my favour.”

Performers looking to tour Australia can apply for the Temporary Activity visa (Subclass 408) for the Entertainment Activities stream. It costs $405 AUD (approximately $270 USD).

However, the CMT Music Award-winning artist could have an issue with attempting to enter Australia with a criminal record. Jelly Roll was arrested on numerous occasions in his teenage years on charges including possession of marijuana and attempted robbery.

According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs website, he may need to provide a police clearance from the US and may not pass the character test required to be granted a visa to enter Australia.

When not cranking out hits, Jelly Roll has hired felons to help out in his Rolling With Jelly food truck.

As he mentioned in an interview last year, he and business partner Jerry Gift Jr. “only hire second-chance guys”.

He explained: “Every other place in the world is like, 'If you got a felony, you can't work here.' We're only hiring felons. They run the food truck, and it comes out on tour with us some nights.”

In other Jelly Roll news, Kane Brown has recently teased a “powerful” new song with the singer.