Members of a Colwood gym were in for a surprise when a famous tattooed face rolled into town.
The day before he performed to a sold-out Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, country music superstar Jelly Roll put on a show of a different kind on the basketball court at Royal Roads University Recreation Centre.
With his crew in tow, the Grammy-nominated artist, whose real name is Jason DeFord, took a break from rehearsals to shoot some hoops and play ball.
“When they first came in, he said, ‘We're going to be loud,’ and I replied, ‘We’re used to loud,’ like that's okay, it’s a basketball court,” said Patti Walsh, recreation centre manager. “They were all just lovely, it was a really, really good night.”
According to Walsh, Jelly Roll could be the most famous person to step inside the university gym since the 1950s, when Princess Elizabeth, The Duchess of Edinburgh, before she became Queen of England, visited what was then a military college.
"Well, he's the most famous since I've been here," she adds.
Prior to his arrival, Walsh kept Jelly Roll’s visit a secret, but there was no hiding the musician when he arrived, with gym members immediately recognizing the star. But despite the initial buzz, members gave Jelly Roll and his team space, only approaching for photo opportunities after they had finished their game.
“One of the members said to me, ‘It's just a guy wanting to play some ball with his friend,’” said Walsh.
After thanking Walsh for allowing him to spend time on the court, Jelly Roll gifted her free tickets for the Victoria concert. But despite being a fan of his music, Walsh gave the Jelly Roll tickets away to her daughter and daughter-in-law, who she describes as huge fans.
Also lucky enough to meet Jelly Roll and attend the concert was Walsh’s co-worker Russ Shushkewich.
“He actually goes to a lot of concerts,” said Walsh. “And he said it's probably the best concert he's been to in years – they loved it.”
The Victoria date was the first of Jelly Roll's 12-city, 13-stop, Beautifully Broken Great Northern tour, which will conclude on March 26 in Quebec City.
