The CBS action drama Fire Country isn’t all that country at all, given its California-focused plot. But the series will get a taste of Tennessee in April when country singer Jelly Roll makes his acting debut as a hospital orderly.
“From the stage to the fire line, it’s time to see if I can keep up,” Jelly Roll said in a promotional video for the upcoming episode. “Man, this is tougher than the Grammys.”
The third season of the show will resume later tonight following a brief winter break. Fire Country will pick up where it left off; its subject matter is now more timely than ever. The show follows Bode Leone (Max Thieriot), a former prisoner who volunteered for the California Conservation Camp Program, which coordinates inmate participation in assisting the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
Recently, Amika Mota, a former inmate firefighter, spoke to Rolling Stone about the dangerous conditions and obstacles incarcerated people in these positions often face. “How do we get Californians to understand we can have volunteers that do this work and do it with pride, and get [them] paid a decent wage to do so?” she said. “We [deserve a] basic level of dignity and humanity. Forced labor and involuntary servitude is slavery. And I really think that we as a state and country have to deeply reflect on on on that.”
Last night, Jelly Roll participated in the FireAid benefit concert organized in support of those impacted by the recent Los Angeles wildfires. “I am honored to bring some country music to the FireAid tonight,” the singer said. He performed his original song “I Am Not Okay” and covered Bob Seger’s “Hollywood Nights” with assistance from Blink-182’s Travis Barker on drums.
“I think it’s important while I’m on this stage that I sing one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite songwriters about one of my favorite cities in America,” he said. “But it would only be right if I did it with somebody from Los Angeles, California.”
On Saturday, Feb. 1, Jelly Roll will perform a benefit concert for first responders at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. He recently visited Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville to share music and words of encouragement with the inmates there, as he has done at other institutions in the past.
“Once again I was blessed with the opportunity to get to speak to some men whose shoes I remember being in and it was amazing,” he wrote on Instagram. “Thank you Riverbend for allowing us to bring a little therapeutic music to the yard.”
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