Thousands of sad Jelly Roll fans left shocked after Auckland cancellation
The popular country hip hop artist called off his Auckland show hours before he was set to appear. "Just couldn’t do it this time."
Thousands of people were gathered at Auckland's Western Springs The Outer Oval on Saturday afternoon, when at 6pm it was announced over the loud speakers the headline act Jelly Roll would not be appearing.
The rapper singer songwriter announced the decision on his Instagram.
“Dear Auckland I’ve done everything I can,” he wrote, “I just can’t shake it.
Jelly Roll has cancelled at Western Springs The Outer Oval.
Serena Solomon/RNZ
“It breaks my heart, I’ve probably missed 3 shows in the last decade.
“I pride myself on showing up no matter what.
“Just couldn’t do it this time. Please forgive me.”
The Saturday show would have been the first time Jelly Roll had performed in New Zealand and was the only stop of his Down Under Tour in Aotearoa.
Live Nation firmed up the news in a statement about 6.20pm Saturday night.
"We regret to announce the Jelly Roll Down Under 2025 Tour tonight at The Outer Fields at Western Springs in Auckland will no longer go ahead due to illness," a statement from Live Nation read.
"All ticket holders will receive an automatic full refund. For any further refund enquiries please contact your point of purchase.
"We thank the fans for their understanding, and we look forward to welcoming Jelly Roll in future."
A fan of the rapper, Angie Smith, drove up in her Holden from the Waikato spending $188 on petrol with four other friends.
"I'm f....ed off, it's annoying, they could have told us hours ago," the 44-year-old told RNZ.
She said that she was looking forward to belting out the song 'Save Me'.
Peter Wilson, 63, from Dunedin had flown in from seeing Metallica in Adelaide on 5 November, stopping to see Jelly Roll in Auckland on the way back to the South Island.
He had seen Jelly Roll in Las Vegas last year.
"We'd been gearing up for this all day. I'm in a bit of shock."
Cindy Ramsey, from Orewa, was attending Jelly Roll with her son. It was a Father's Day present to her from her 32-year-old son, they said.
"She raised me as a single mum so she gets Father's Day and Mother's Day," said son, Shane Thomas.
Ramsey said she was "gutted" it had been cancelled at the last minute. She was most looking forward to belting out the song 'I am not OK'.
"That's my song right now," she said.
"That's our family's song right now," her son added.
Both mother and son are drawn to Jelly Roll's story of redemption from crime and drugs.
"I was on a bender when I heard the song Sober. When I heard that I actually started to get sober," Thomas told RNZ.
