Jelly Roll selected for 2026 Artist Humanitarian Award by the Country Radio Broadcasters

Jelly Roll selected for 2026 Artist Humanitarian Award by the Country Radio Broadcasters

Country Radio Broadcasters have named Jelly Roll the recipient of its 2026 Artist Humanitarian Award, a nod to a year (and frankly, a career) defined by showing up for people who rarely get the spotlight.

The honor recognizes country artists whose charitable work actually moves the needle, and Jelly Roll’s recent efforts make a strong case. Over the past year alone, he’s helped raise $500,000 for ACM Lifting Lives and personally donated $250,000 to build a recording studio for teens inside the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center – a full-circle moment for an artist who’s been candid about his own troubled past.

In announcing the award, CBR highlighted what fans have known for a while now. His work around addiction recovery, mental health, and community outreach has become just as central to his identity as his music.

He’s in good company, too. Previous recipients include heavyweights like Eric Church, Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, and Carrie Underwood artists who’ve all leveraged their platforms for something bigger. Jelly Roll will officially accept the award at this year’s Country Radio Seminar, running March 18-20 in Nashville.

Jelly Roll has been stacking humanitarian recognition over the past few years, including the ACM Lifting Lives Award in 2025 and Variety’s Hitmakers Changemaker of the Year in 2024. The accolades are nice, sure, but they’re really just markers of a much deeper commitment.

Spend any time following him, and you’ll notice a pattern: prisons, juvenile centers, shelters. He goes where the industry rarely does. In May 2025, he stopped by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Adult Detention Center ahead of a Minneapolis show, continuing a run of visits that feel less like PR stops and more like personal missions.

That same energy was on display during a visit to Riverbend Prison in Nashville, where he delivered a message that cuts through the noise of typical celebrity outreach.

“Listen to what I’m fixing to tell you right now. Who you were is not who you are and who you are right now is not even a tenth of the man you can actually f— be. You can be thinking the wildest thing right now but whatever you’re dreaming of could be too small still,” and “I encourage you to dream bigger when you go back to your cell tonight.”
“When they close that door after last count time, I encourage you to start visualizing your future and believing that things can change for you in a way you never thought they would change for you. That you don’t have to go back to that bulls— anymore.” “We don’t have to spend the rest of our lives suffering, poor, and f–king addicted and struggling anymore. Today is the day to break the chains, gentlemen,” he concluded

Jelly Roll is also headed out on tour this spring. Check the dates here:

03/14 Hermosillo, MX @ La Cura Fest
05/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
05/13 El Paso, TX @ Sun Bowl Stadium
05/15 Albuquerque, NM @ Boots In The Park
05/16 Albuquerque, NM @ Boots In The Park
05/19 Waco, TX @ McLane Stadium
05/23 Baton Rouge, LA @ LSU Tiger Stadium
05/26 Birmingham, AL @ Protective Stadium
05/29 Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
05/30 Bloomingdale, GA @ Ottawa Farms
06/05 Oxford, MS @ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
06/09 Charlotte, NC @ Bank of America Stadium
06/12 Indianapolis, IN @ Lucas Oil Stadium
06/16 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Stadium
06/22 East Hartford, CT @ Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field
06/25 Cleveland, OH @ Huntington Bank Field
06/26 Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Centre
06/27 Dauphin, MB @ Dauphin's Country Fest
07/04 Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
07/10 Ashland, KY @ Boyd County Fairgrounds
07/11 Fayetteville, AR @ Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium
07/15 Kansas City, MO @ Kauffman Stadium
07/17 Ames, IA @ Jack Trice Stadium
07/21 Missoula, MT @ Washington-Grizzly Stadium
07/24 Edmonton, AB @ Commonwealth Stadium
07/25 Edmonton, AB @ Commonwealth Stadium
07/28 Salt Lake City, UT @ Rice-Eccles Stadium


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