Jelly Roll brought the ideal surprise guest onstage last Saturday (July 29) at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Ga. For the love song "Kill a Man," Jelly Roll serenaded its inspiration: his spouse of nearly seven years, Bunnie XO.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my beautiful wife, Miss Bunnie DeFord," Jelly Roll said as he introduced the Dumb Blonde Podcast host to the crowd.
Bunnie XO thanked the audience for its continued support of her family, emphasizing that "we love every one of you motherfu**ers."
Jelly Roll changed the lyrics to suit the moment, swapping "I was bulletproof, but baby, loving you could kill a man" to "I was bulletproof, but Bunnie, loving you could kill a man."
The song appears on Jelly Roll's new album Whitsitt Chapel. It references the couple's first meeting, which took place in Las Vegas at a 2015 concert, and sums up the difference true love has made in Jelly Roll's well-chronicled redemption story.
"I thought that night in Vegas / the drink I was drinking would finally take me / I thought I wouldn't make it / that my demons would find me with blue lights behind me / thought my time was up more than a time or two / the enemy begins with you," the lyrics go. "Something about you has always been dangerous / I should run, but here I stand / you're the one thing Heaven can't save me from / and I'm far past my last chance / I was bulletproof / but baby, loving you could kill a man."
The show was part of Jelly Roll's headlining Backroad Baptism Tour, which kicked out the prior night in Mississippi. The 44-city journey lasts through Oct. 14. Opening support on select dates ranges from Ashley McBryde to Three 6 Mafia.
