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Jelly Roll will keep his concerts stateside for now — at least until a few legal hurdles are cleared. The country singer — real name Jason DeFord — told Jon Bon Jovi for Interview magazine that although he’s “so excited” to travel internationally, his team needs to put together the “final pieces of some legal puzzles for me to get overseas.” DeFord has been open about his felony convictions, one of which was for aggravated robbery after he used a gun to steal weed at age 16.

The 39-year-old felt optimistic that he would one day take his live performances to international audiences, although the timeline for that is still murky. “America has finally agreed to let me leave and give me a passport, but some countries won’t let me come because of my felonies,” he continued. “We’re working on that.



I think it’s going to work in my favor.” Bon Jovi then weighed in on the matter, criticizing the “archaic rules” that prevented DeFord from traveling. But the musician appeared grateful that the opportunity could one day exist.

“For the record I’m a kid from Antioch, Tenn., whose father never left the southeastern region until he was in his 50s,” DeFord said. In an interview with The Times last year, DeFord detailed his teenage and young adult years in Antioch, a suburb of Nashville.

He said he spent much time behind bars on robbery- and drug-related charges. Although he’s not a “political guy,” partly because he can’t vote due to his felon.

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