Jelly Roll Set to Ignite the Screen in Acting Debut on ‘Fire Country’

Jelly Roll, the genre-blending country star known for his raw authenticity and soulful storytelling, is about to step into a brand-new spotlight—acting. The multi-award-winning artist will make his television acting debut on CBS’s hit action-drama series Fire Country, a show that has captivated audiences with its high-stakes firefighting action and deeply emotional character arcs.

Born Jason DeFord, Jelly Roll has built a career rooted in vulnerability, blending country, rock, and hip-hop influences into deeply personal music. His transition into acting might come as a surprise to some, but for fans who have witnessed his gripping performances on stage, his ability to bring passion and grit to storytelling is undeniable.

Fire Country follows a group of inmates who volunteer as firefighters in exchange for reduced prison sentences, tackling raging wildfires while wrestling with personal redemption. Details on Jelly Roll’s character remain under wraps, but speculation is already swirling about whether he’ll portray a hardened convict, a local hero, or something in between. Given his background and ability to channel real-life struggles into his art, it’s likely his role will carry the same emotional weight that defines his music.

The crossover from music to acting has been a natural evolution for many artists, with country stars like Tim McGraw and Dwight Yoakam proving their chops on the silver screen. If Jelly Roll’s emotional depth and charisma in music translate to the screen, Fire Country may have just landed a fiery new fan-favorite.

Jelly Roll’s acting debut is expected to air later this year, and fans can’t wait to see if he brings the same heart, grit, and raw honesty that made him a music industry powerhouse. One thing’s for sure—he’s about to turn up the heat.

Marianne Faithfull, the iconic English singer, songwriter, and actress, has passed away at 7

Marianne Faithfull, the iconic English singer, songwriter, and actress, has passed away at the age of 78. Born on December 29, 1946, in Hampstead, London, Faithfull's career spanned over five decades, leaving an indelible mark on the music and film industries.

Faithfull's journey into the limelight began in 1964 when she was discovered at a Rolling Stones launch party. Her debut single, "As Tears Go By," penned by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Andrew Loog Oldham, became a chart success and established her as a prominent figure in the British Invasion of the United States.

Throughout the 1960s, Faithfull released a series of successful singles, including "This Little Bird," "Summer Nights," and "Come and Stay with Me." Her ethereal voice and striking beauty made her a symbol of the Swinging Sixties. During this period, she also embarked on a highly publicized relationship with Mick Jagger, further cementing her place in the cultural zeitgeist.

The 1970s brought significant challenges for Faithfull. She battled heroin addiction, anorexia, and homelessness, which led to a hiatus from her musical career. However, demonstrating remarkable resilience, she made a triumphant return in 1979 with the critically acclaimed album "Broken English." This work showcased a raw, emotive sound, with her once melodic voice now imbued with a husky, world-weary timbre that critics described as "whisky-soaked."

In addition to her musical achievements, Faithfull pursued acting, appearing in films such as "I'll Never Forget What's'isname" (1967), "The Girl on a Motorcycle" (1968), and "Hamlet" (1969). Her artistic versatility and willingness to confront personal demons in her work earned her a reputation as a fearless and authentic performer.

Faithfull's later years were marked by continued creative output. In 2021, she released "She Walks in Beauty," a spoken word album featuring her recitations of 19th-century British Romantic poetry, accompanied by musical arrangements from Warren Ellis, Brian Eno, Nick Cave, and Vincent Segal.

Her contributions to the arts were recognized with numerous accolades, including the World Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Women's World Awards and being made a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

Marianne Faithfull's life was a testament to resilience and artistic evolution. Her ability to navigate the tumultuous landscapes of fame, personal struggles, and creative reinvention leaves a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire artists and audiences alike.

Ultimate Ears - The Speaker Predicament

by carysmegansound

Ever since I've had a concept of what music I enjoy I've had an ongoing predicament: how do I listen to this music? I thought I'd give my two cents on what current equipment helps me to hear the good sound.

I was born in the mid-90s so my first personal listening experiences were via tape and those tiny headphones you can see me wearing. I obviously don't remember sound quality of these but there's definitely a reason they don't make them like that anymore. My earphone/headphone journey began mostly with JVC jelly in-ear earphones which I swore by for years and still probably would now for casual listeners. They were the most comfortable I could find, dead cheap and lasted me at least 4 years of school journeys. 

In 6th form I studied Music Tech so it was time to upgrade, and I used relatively basic Sennheisers (that they've now stopped making) throughout the two years. They did the job but I don't particularly rate them over anything else. Then I got a pair of Beats solo 2s with my mac (I miss student deals) and I didn't want to be that guy... but I definitely became a Beats user. I found those pretty comfy and they're still alive now so I respect how well they've lasted. Flashforward to about a month ago and I was shopping for some wireless headphones not just for convenience but... well really mostly convenience.

Going wireless changed my life to the point where now I don't even like that I have to charge things with a wire. Why does my TV even need a power supply?

Anyway, I went to the apple store and tried out a pair of Beats Studio 3s and honestly I was sold instantly. Not just the sound quality but the adaptive noise cancelling was a massive selling point for me. You're there with the music and not there with everyone else on the bus too. On the box it says 'change the way you hear sound' which makes it out like its one of a kind which it isn't necessarily, but there's certainly nothing wrong with them and I'd recommend them to anyone... as long as they were on sale!

This is what I'm really here to talk about: Ultimate Ears and their range of bluetooth speakers (again, wireless is such a fab thing). I came across the UE Boom 2 thanks to a friend who uses his religiously. He always has it on him ready to go and we used it on a holiday in Greece where water, sand and the heat didn't phase it at all. Soon after that it was Prime day and I bought one for about the price they are now (a year later) and I used it regularly, even dropping it onto a hard floor from a 9ft height.... It came out of that ordeal with no dents and the music continued playing as if nothing had happened!

This year on Prime day I upgraded to the UE Megaboom, with an extra 30hz of low-end and double the power. I'm sure I'll always be a strong advocate of the UE range. They changed the way I hear sound.

UE have a vast range, from the small to the large (now with styles including Alexa voice control!) all decently priced for the quality and sheer durability of their products. I'm not sponsored in any way, I just believe that UE aren't necessarily first choice for people but it definitely should be on peoples radars.

Have a look at their range and find out more over at ultimateears.com

Existential Dread and Clever Lyrical Content: The Underground Indie Scene

By carysmegansound

This may seem a rather odd topic but it's one close to my heart. My musical taste largely consists of music in the Math Rock and (underground) Indie Rock genres, and bands in this scene often have funny song names: I haven't had a lunch break since window's vista came out - Alpha Male Tea Party, lyrical content that can only be written by a 20-something year old having an existential crisis: I need to sort my life out / I need to sort my hair / but the barber's got no answers only stories i don't care about - Don't Worry, and an aesthetic and relatability for so many of my generation.

Don't Worry's recent release Who Cares Anyway?

Can guitars sound sad? Absolutely. I don't believe any other genre makes guitars sound as sad as underground emo/indie/math rock does, and I know 'sad' definitely isn't a technical term but as soon as you listen you'll understand what I mean.

This blog was inspired by a band I discovered by accident at Tooting Tram and Social a couple of years ago. They were playing alongside an underground Math Rock band called The Yacht Club (who incidentally have a really exciting album in the works - and I cannot wait for it to come out and tell you all about it).

Anyway, I was totally drawn to Don't Worry because line after line was relatable and so cleverly crafted. Why am I so Unorganised is the first and main lyric of the chorus to Three Nil. The bridge of the song consists of the singer talking in a matter-of-fact way, and it's one of my favourite parts of any song I've ever heard (see below)

“I walked out of the tube station and waited for the bus driver to finish his cigarette so that we could all get on board and he could start the engine.
I sat facing backwards looking only at where I’d been and not where I was going and a sense of non-interest and disappointment flooded my brain.
I couldn’t wait to get home to carry on feeling this way. But once I was at home I would be alone and more comfortable, and my eyes wouldn’t be bouncing around in my head like the numbers on the national lottery.”

— Three Nil - Don't Worry

Something else that I've always loved about going to underground gigs is how intimate they are. The bands are usually fans of each other anyway so when they're not on stage, they're right next to you in the crowd. Also, you get little personal touches when you buy things from them - my Don't Worry cap came in shiny paper with a handwritten note. Even though these bands I listen to sing about the relatively sad things in life, they're happy as lary doing what they do and I massively respect that.

What I really want you to take away from reading this is to go to local and underground gigs. They're cheap so it's no worry if you don't particularly enjoy the band you took a gamble in seeing. The venues are usually unusual and a bit interesting so you get a decent night out either way, and you might even come away with a love for a new band you wouldn't have otherwise come across. 

A recent example of this for me was Leo Nappier in The Ram Jam. Him with his band were relatively new in playing together back in March and ended up blowing everyone away, and they're back again on 28th July!

A great way of discovering underground artists is to look for indie record labels and look at their artists. A great one to check out for the sort of 'sad' / math rock I'm in to is Big Scary Monsters. They released a fantastic Math Rock record titled Animals by This Town Needs Guns, and some of their current artists include Gnarwolves, Alpha Male Tea Party, and Nervus (who very recently played in Kingston). Another indie record label I'm a big fan of is Failure by Design records. Alternatively, find some venues in your local area and look to see who plays there regularly or is playing there soon!

This Is America... Some Thoughts

By carysmegansound

I'd never listened to Childish Gambino before, and I'm definitely not up to date with the rap/hip-hop scene of this decade (my HipHop/Rap playlist on Spotify pretty much has stuff exclusively from the early 90s to about 2007). But a friend of mine suggested this video to me and since then I've seen many articles pop up about it, so I thought I'd go through some of these and throw in my two cents.

source: youtube.com

This Is America has sparked online discussion and even the BBC are reporting on its message. Music Journalist Natty Kasambala describes the contrasting tones of the song as being similar to scrolling through a twitter feed; you'll see violence and then something funny, and your emotions can flick through from laughing to sadness in a second. This is something I wholeheartedly believe was the idea behind the video - in America you have strong black communities celebrating their heritage (shown with the traditional African singing used in the song) and that is interrupted by the violence and gun crime. She also mentions that watching more black deaths in the video "isn't going to have any more of a revolutionary impact" which I agree with, but don't believe the video was created with that intention - I think the intention was more artistic and metaphorical in the way that he chose to arrange the music and pair the video with the song... Natty's final comment was that she was "a little shocked and a little overwhelmed with the way he chose to say [something so important]". 

Source: glassnotemusic.com

Who Is Childish Gambino?

Donald Glover is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, producer, DJ and songwriter/rapper, under which he uses the stage name Childish Gambino. He's currently signed to Glassnote Records (Chvrches, Daughter, Two Door Cinema Club) and his latest release 'Awaken, My Love!' achieved vast critical acclaim, particularly for the song Redbone. I've not yet seen a negative thing about him, in fact quite the opposite. The image below is a comment under the BBC News article about This Is America.

Source: Facebook

Source: youtube.com

Picking Apart The Video...

The first scene in the music video shows Glover with apparently 'exaggerated' dance moves and facial expressions, and many (The Guardian, AJ+) have likened this to a gross characterisation of African-Americans and their culture by Thomas D. Rice from around the 19th Century known as Jim Crow.

The strongest piece of imagery for me was the contrast and confliction in the video, first of all from the dancing to the shooting and second of all between the foreground and the background. In the scene with an all-black gospel choir, Gambino comes in dancing and smiling then all of a sudden his body and facial expression just drops and at that point the gun is thrown into his arms and he shoots the choir. This to me is what the video is all about; black identity being interrupted by the reality of racism and the gun crime in America. "We Just Wanna Party" are the first words sung, and potentially the most underrated as I haven't seen this picked apart in any of the articles I've read. This hugely contrasts with "Guns in my area / I gotta carry 'em".

The conflicting imagery between Gambino in the front and the chaos ensuing in the back of most of the video is widely accepted as a commentary on the media being a distraction to what is actually going on in the world, however I also took it potentially as showing black communities trying to push on with lives despite what is going on around them.

Source: youtube.com

According to Time magazine, Gambino has said his next album will be his last... Every one of his albums so far have been vastly different to one another and each one has achieved greater praise than the one before; can we expect it to be a political mic drop as a poignant end to his Childish Gambino Persona?

If you would like to check out the articles and sources discussed and drawn on for this blog, here are the links below:

• This Is America by Childish Gambino on YouTube
• The Guardian
• Time
• BBC News
• Glassnote Records 
• AJ+