Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, the country artist opens up about feeling starstruck when he met Swift.
Despite being a Grammy-nominated country artist, Jelly Roll still gets starstruck from time to time.
In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, the “Winning Streak” singer, 39, shares the story of his unforgettable encounter with Taylor Swift at the 2024 Grammy Awards, admitting he was nearly lost for words during the meeting.
Jelly Roll explains that when he saw Swift, 34, he mustered up the courage to tell her about a special memory involving his daughter Bailee, now 16. He recalled pushing Bailee on the swings at a children’s playground in Hendersonville, Tenn., that Swift had helped fund.
“I take an absurd amount of pride in being from Nashville, so anytime I can connect something to Tennessee, it makes me happy,” he says. “Taylor lived in Hendersonville for a while and had bought a playground. I used to push Bailee on that swingset Taylor donated. I wanted to mention that when I met her, but I was so nervous I couldn’t even remember which swingset it was.”
In 2010, Swift, who attended high school in Hendersonville, collaborated with Little Tikes Commercial to rebuild the Kids Kingdom playground at Memorial Park, which had been damaged by flooding. A press release at the time revealed that the “Fortnight” singer contributed $100,000 to the project to help complete it. The playground now features castle-themed slides with flags bearing Swift’s signature.
Jelly Roll shares that despite Swift being the one to approach him at the Grammys, he still found himself speechless.
“My wife [Bunnie Xo] said, ‘I think Taylor’s coming over to holler at you.’ It was like the Red Sea parted for her,” he remembers. “I’m standing there looking at Taylor Swift, and I’ve got this reason to tell her why I admire her so much, but all I could say was, ‘You built the swingset somewhere, my daughter, I pushed her on it.’ I completely blew it! I was definitely at a loss for words.”