Jelly Roll Brings Out MGK for Live Debut of ‘Lonely Road’ at Harley-Davidson Homecoming

MGK joined his good friend Jelly Roll at his Harley-Davidson Homecoming headline set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to perform the live debut of their brand new single, ‘Lonely Road’.

The duo dropped the star-studded collaboration on Friday (July 26), accompanied by a cinematic music video featuring Megan Fox and Bunnie XO, MGK and Jelly Roll's respective partners, as the two vocalists attempt to make ends meet for their families.

The visuals spread like wildfire online, thanks in part to the fact that Megan Fox is pregnant in the video, with the end credits fuelling speculation that Megan and MGK may have a child on the way in real life, as well as in the ‘Lonely Road’ storyline, named ‘Violet Leika’.

MGK and Jelly Roll's live performance of ‘Lonely Road’ captured the familiarity and chemistry that shines throughout the studio recording, with the two artists even kicking off the Harley-Davidson Homecoming rendition with an endearing, tongue-in-cheek dance.

Heartwarmingly, both MGK and Jelly Roll have been vocal in recent weeks about their admiration for one another, with MGK underlining how much this duet means to him while on-stage. The ‘Hotel Diablo’ hitmaker shared, “Jelly, this song is gonna change our lives. We are gonna perform this in stadiums one day. I love you so much for having faith in me”, before Jelly echoed his sentiments, “No matter where we perform, the first time we ever performed it was right here at the Harley-Davidson Homecoming in Milwaukee. I love you MGK, baby, my brother”.

‘Lonely Road’ interpolates John Denver's iconic 1971 track, ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’, with MGK keeping the melody and flipping the lyrics to convey his heartbreak. The part-rapped verses blend with the anthemic hook to create an energising earworm that serves as MGK's first official original country single. It follows his unexpected cover of Zach Bryan's ‘Sun to Me’, which arrived in June.

Shortly after ‘Lonely Road’s release, MGK took to socials to pay tribute to Jelly Roll's influence on his life, as well as nodding to their short-lived beef over a decade ago, “jelly you are living breathing badass and a kindred soul who has shown me the path of redemption and what it looks like to believe in yourself against all odds...from us beefing 12 years ago, and fast forward to us putting out what i believe will be the biggest hit of our careers yet im proud to call you my brother and life feels better knowing you got my back...this lonely road ain’t so lonely my friend”.

Jelly Roll also toasted MGK via Instagram, with the ’Need a Favor’ singer-songwriter expressing his gratitude for how their friendship has progressed over the years, “What makes this collab so beautiful is its two guys that came from the exact same kinda place with less than zero percent of making it out it. We have known each other for at least 15 years now. And in true young dumb fashion it was a tumultuous beginning and basically it’s because I was one of the many people that judged him before I gave him a chance. but over time I’ve had the honor of watching him become one of the biggest [artists] on earth but most importantly I’ve watched him become one of the best fathers and humans on earth”.

Jelly expanded, “To my brother, I want you to know The positive energy radiating off of you. I can’t even shower you with enough praises for how incredible it has been to watch you become one of the greatest most multifaceted songwriters and musicians in the game. Thank you for picking me to be on this one brother. This song was going to be hit no matter who you called I’m just honored it was me. And I’m glad the world is getting to see your heart. You’ve been misunderstood for so long it feels a bit vindicating to watch the world see your soul. You’re one of the good ones Kells. Now let’s LACE UP! Est. for Life 🙏”.

It remains to be seen whether ‘Lonely Road’ will form part of a debut country album from MGK, but given he's been spotted in the studio with The Castellows, it certainly seems we can look forward to more country releases from the genre-blender.

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