Jelly Roll tosses phone into river after ending Beautifully Broken tour, tells fans he's 'taking a break'

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Country music star Jason DeFord, better known as Jelly Roll, threw his phone into the Cumberland River after wrapping up the 58-stop Beautifully Broken tour in Nashville on Wednesday, November 7, reported Whiskey Riff.

The last stop of the tour was a sold-out show at the Bridgestone Arena that featured appearances from Snoop Dogg, Ernest, and Morgan Wallen. It was the end of an eventful work year for Jelly Roll, during which he released his second country album and got nominated for two Grammy awards.

Why did Jelly Roll throw away his phone?

Before going up on stage for his final performance in the tour, Jelly Roll took to the social media platform Instagram to share a heartfelt thank you message for his friends and fans.

“What’s up, y’all? It’s your favorite fluffy person, Mr Jelly Roll. Story time with Uncle Roll. Thirteen weeks ago, y’all. Thirteen weeks ago today, we started the ‘Beautifully Broken Tour’ in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over the course of those 13 weeks, we have done 58 sold-out arenas. Not to mention Saturday Night Live, Global Citizen, Kelly Clarkson, Jimmy Kimmel, all the other cool stuff. But just, 58 sold-out arenas in the last 13 weeks," he began.

"Man, it’s sad because today is the last day of the ‘Beautifully Broken Tour.’ today is the day that we end this tour back home in Nashville, Tennessee. And man, this is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it, baby. …I’m just so grateful, man. So grateful," he said.

"I never dreamed this is how this would shake out. but I was talking to my wife this morning and this is bigger than the ‘Beautifully Broken Tour,’ y’all. for those that don’t know, I played my first arena ever in Nashville, the same one I’m playing tonight, two years ago. It was a really big deal," he further mentioned.

"It was such a big deal that ABC News did an entire documentary about it. It’s called Jelly Roll: Save Me. It’s on Hulu now. It’s incredible. I’m a little biased, but it’s incredible. please go check it out. But to think about the last two years, I think this is deeper than just the 13-week tour. This has been two years of hard work," he continued.

"This has been two years of y’all supporting me endlessly, unwavering faith, just continuing to stand by me and letting me put out all this music over the course of two years. ...I think I slept in my bed 61 days last year. I’ve only slept in it 44 days this year. and I’m grateful for that. I’m not complaining. I’m grateful for it. Y’all know I have a very unhealthy relationship with social media. I have a very unhealthy relationship with phones," he shared towards the end of the video message.

"So I’m getting on here to tell y’all I’m taking a break. It’s been a crazy couple of years and I love y’all so much. I’m throwing this phone out the window tonight. I’m going to go phoneless for a few months. My friends from where I’m from are used to this. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. But I love y’all, man. I’m sure that I’ll still be posting," Roll told his fans.

"I’ll grab me a GoPro or something, and I’m sure you’ll see me on my wife’s stuff, but I love y’all, man. Thank y’all for making this the most incredible year I could’ve ever asked for," he concluded.

Remaining true to his words, Jelly Roll headed down to the Cumberland River a couple blocks away from Bridgestone. Getting his family on FaceTime, he said, "You know how I throw my phone out all the time? We’re at the Cumberland River on the Shelby Street walkway. Mama, I love you. I’m a little tipsy. I look forward to spending my next couple of months with just y’all and no outside interference," he said.

And with that, he threw it into the water, reportedly without disconnecting the call. His wife filmed the video of him throwing his phone into the river. 

Jelly Roll had ditched his phone in 2023

Throwing away his phone is not a new thing for the country singer, according to Whiskey Riff. He reportedly did the same thing in 2023 after shooting to stardom for the first time.

Jelly Roll had three #1 hits last year and even won the CMA Award for New Artist of the Year. At the end of the eventful year, he decided to unwind by staying away from his phone.

In an Instagram post, the singer stated at the time, "I’m going to get rid of my phone again and go phoneless for the rest of the year to focus on family and try to be as present as possible for my family. I’ll be posting when I can from the iPad or my wife’s phone."