(NASHVILLE, Tenn) — Rising above his own troubled past, country-star Jelly Roll is charting a powerful new course in addiction and mental-health advocacy, by planning to build a 100-acre, free rehabilitation and mental-health campus on his sprawling Tennessee property.
In a recent vlog captured on his Tennessee acreage, Jelly Roll walked through a secluded section of his land, beyond a creek, where he outlined his bold vision:
“On the other side of the creek … I’m going to develop, like, a 100-acre rehabilitation campus, for free. Where like, imagine drug addicts like you and like us, poor kids, like we’re just f—ing down, when life was kicking our a—. And now think about the resources that we have, that could have helped us so much in those moments.”
The ambitious plan calls for more than just inpatient beds. Jelly Roll described:
“You’ll have your traditional 28-day, 12-step-style program. But also intensive programs as well for therapy and mental health.”
Further, he envisions “guest weekenders” – people in long-term recovery who would come, leave their phones, and “get in the mud with the boys” alongside those actively in treatment.
Jelly Roll’s drive stems from his own journey of addiction, incarceration, and redemption. The Tennessee-born musician has been outspoken about how drugs, jail time, and self-destruction once defined his life.
When he spoke before the U.S. Senate in early 2024 about the fentanyl crisis, he didn’t hold back:
“I was a part of the problem. I am here now, standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution.”
“I’ve attended more funerals than I care to share with y’all… good people, not just drug addicts.”
The upcoming campus appears to be a natural extension of that “solution-oriented” approach, this time, rooted in place, resources, and his own personal stake.
While a formal timeline has not yet been published, reports indicate:
The property is part of Jelly Roll’s farm in Tennessee, where he and his wife, Bunnie , own roughly 1,000 acres.
The specific site earmarked is about 100 acres, across a creek, set to become the rehabilitation/mental-health campus.
Program elements will include: a standard 28-day 12-step model, intensive mental-health therapy, holistic programming (nutrition, on-site blood work), and immersive experiences involving weekend guest participants.
Importantly: the service is described as free of charge for participants, emphasizing the charitable nature.
This effort comes at a time when mental-health and addiction resources remain uneven across the U.S., particularly for under-resourced youth and adults. Jelly Roll, who emerged from poverty and incarceration, framed the campus as directly aimed at “kids like us”:
He’s also been candid about attending meetings and coming face-to-face with his own issues:
“I still think that there is something from [an AA meeting] … they’ll make you listen, you’ll learn, you’ll laugh and you’ll cry.”
By creating this campus, Jelly Roll is bringing recovery home—both literally (on his land) and figuratively (with authenticity).
Fans and community members have already responded with strong support.
Jelly Roll says there’s “no pipe dream” here—he’s serious—but an official timeline is still forthcoming.
“I always said that if I ever got in this situation, I would do everything I could to give back.”
Should the campus come to fruition as envisioned, it could become a model for celebrity-led, resource-rich, free recovery facilities that integrate mental-health services, holistic care, and peer immersion.
For communities impacted by addiction, it puts emphasis on lived-experience leadership (someone who’s walked the path) and hands-on engagement. Jelly Roll’s transparency around his own addiction journey adds credibility to a culture that often struggles with stigma and inaccessibility.
From the rough streets of Antioch, Tennessee, to multi-platinum country-music stardom, Jelly Roll has walked through darkness and come out the other side—and now he wants to build a space so others can find that way out too.
If his promise holds, the next chapter in Jelly Roll’s story won’t just be about music—it will be about saving lives.
This is a developing Nashville Fit story.
Fill out the form and get the latest issue delivered right to your inbox
