Jelly Roll Invites Four Inmates Onstage for a Performance of 'Unpretty' During Charlottesville, Virginia Show

Under the spotlight of John Paul Jones Arena, Jelly Roll welcomed a handful of special guests to the stage during his Charlottesville, Virginia show last night (Oct. 30).

During a stop on his Beautifully Broken tour, the 'Save Me' star shared the stage with four local inmates, who he met just hours before.

"I don’t know if any of y’all follow what’s on social media," Jelly Roll explained, addressing the crowd before the four men took the stage, "but we try to make it a point in every city that we play to either go visit a rehab, a jail or a homeless shelter.

"Today, I had the most unique experience I’ve ever had in a jail. It shook me to my core. There’s a local – within about an hour from here – a local county jail that has a program that is teaching people how to recover the right way through therapy, and though music … getting a real second chance ... It’s a really forward thinking place."

It was during this visit that he would meet the group of men, who sang to the star a few of his own songs.

"I began to cry and weep in this cell with all these men, and these women, that were in there singing their soul out," he shared of the encounter. "They were singing all of my new album. I left there, and I couldn’t quit thinking about it."

Jelly Roll then did the unexpected – he even let the crowd know "we’re fixin’ to do something I’m never gonna do again on this tour" – and called the local Sheriff.

He continued, "I said ‘I know this sounds crazy, but I never got the chance to see if the dream could be real. Would you please bring those inmates to the show tonight so they can see the dream? ... It won’t cost a tax dollar, I’ll pay for everything. If you would please give these young men a second chance. Just show ’em that it can happen ‘cuz it happened for me. I was in this same kind of place.'”

With the blessing of county officials, the four men were welcomed onto the stage, unrestrained and in plain clothes. "If anybody believes in second chances, it's a fuckin' Jelly Roll show" the artist said to uproarious applause.

With that, they all performed one of the artist's recent hits, 'Unpretty', singing the star's powerful words: "I hate the man I used to be / But he'll always be a part of me / Right now, lookin' at my past / I know it's unpretty / Can't hide the pain that I've been through / I wear my scars like my tattoos / The man who I was was wrong / But he's the one who built me."

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