"I Think He's Very Aware of What's Coming Next:" Revered Hitmaker Jessie Jo Dillon Hints at Jelly Roll's Next Musical Chapter

Over the last five years or so, Jelly Roll has evolved from underground rapper from Nashville to one of country music's biggest and most beloved artists.

Since the release of his debut country album, Whitsitt Chapel in June of 2023, he's been going full throttle as he's landed No. 1 hit singles, embarked on massive worldwide tours and become one of the go-to collaborators in the genre.

With his 2024 album, Beautifully Broken, JR further sharpened his poignant lyrical pen with offerings like 'Heart of Stone,' 'Winning Streak,' 'Liar,' 'I Am Not Okay' and more. Yet now, over a year since the project's release, all eyes are on the genre-blending maverick when it comes to what is next.

Earlier this fall, Holler caught up with revered songwriter and frequent Jelly Roll collaborator, Jessie Jo Dillon, who just that week had been busy in writing rooms with JR himself.

"I love him so much and he's like family to me at this point. The day we met, we actually wrote 'Halfway to Hell,' which ended up being a No. 1 for him," Dillon gushes. "He's so aware of his fans and himself. Watching him has been like watching a rocket ship. We're both from Nashville–he's Antioch, I'm Nolensville–so as soon as we met, it felt like we already knew each other. He's one of the smartest people I've ever met in my life. He's lived it all and seen it all."

When it comes to new music on the horizon, Dillon explains that Jelly Roll is deep in the trenches of his next musical chapter. "He's in a really cool place working on this next era of music. I wouldn't say it's a transition, but he's really thinking a lot about what he's going to do next.

"I think he's very aware of what's coming next. He's a great writer, even though he'll always say that he's not. He couldn't be more wrong, but he wrote by himself for most of his career." Dillon continues, "What I love about Jelly is that he's not scared to go down a rabbit hole, even if you end up right back where you started. That's always really fun to do with him and he's in a very exploratory space right now, which is exciting to me as a writer."

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