Jelly Roll made one 12-year-old fan’s dream come true during a recent visit. The rising country artist made a special visit to meet with a young boy, who has Stage 4 cancer.
Videos by American Songwriter
Preston Wells is an East Tennessee native, who is a major fan of Jelly Roll. Like the artist, he is also very passionate about charitable work and giving back to his community. For one, Wells regularly writes to both military members as well as prison inmates.
It was these letters that first got the attention of Knoxville radio show Joey and Nancy on 107.7 WIVK. Once the radio hosts realized that Wells was a big fan of Jelly Roll, they used their platform to try to reach the artist for a visit.
Jelly Roll learned about Wells and made the trip to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, where Wells is being treated, to visit with him over the Thanksgiving holidays. The radio host shared the joyful update on TikTok.
“Look what happened today. Jelly Roll drove himself from Nashville to Knoxville to meet Preston at Neyland Stadium and go to the Tennessee game,” radio host Joey shared. “Dreams come true, y’all. Thanks so much. This is awesome. Talk about giving thanks and being thankful. Wow.”
Jelly Roll gave Wells a signed hoodie with promises of staying connected with the young fan. The country artist shared his gamer tag so they could play together online sometimes. Wells’ mother Amanda spoke with Music Mayhem about Jelly Roll, calling him “the most caring, sincere gentleman I’ve ever met.”
She went on to praise the way the artist interacted with her son, making him feel like he was a “celebrity” for the day.
“He didn’t just come to see my son because a friend called in a favor, or for views. He told my baby that he was honored to meet him, and I honestly believe that,” she said. “It was much like he was the fan and Preston the celebrity. We will never be able to thank Jelly Roll enough for the joy he brought my son. He has been so sick for so long. He hasn’t had much happiness or joy.”
Wells opened up about meeting his idol as well. “It was a surprise. It was a big surprise. I was really happy when I figured out that,” Wells said. “He’s a very down-to-earth person.”
[Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images for iHeartRadio]
