Jelly Roll Takes Daughter Bailee to the Stagecoach for “Cool Dad Points.”

Stagecoach was a family affair for jellyroll when he brought his 15-year-old daughter, Bailee Ann DeFord, for a birthday surprise.

“This may seem a little cheesy, but I had to score some cool dad points,” Jelly, 39, told the crowd in Indio, California on Friday, April 26. “I picked my daughter up from school today and flew her to California for this show two. Don’t tell her teacher.”

Jelly, one of the headliners on the T-Mobile Mane Stage, brought out his wife Bunnie XO and Bailee for the special moment.

“I don’t want to keep her busy, but my little girl is 15 years old and in about 10 days she’ll be 16,” he explained. “I see some of you little cowboys smiling, stop it. I’m looking at you. I see you.” Much to her father’s chagrin, Bailey gave a friendly wave.

Related: Relationship timeline between Jelly Roll and wife Bunnie XO

Jelly Roll may think he’s the son of a sinner, but he’s found an angel in his wife, Bunnie XO. After two stints in prison – Jelly Roll (real name Jason Bradley DeFord) was arrested for aggravated robbery at age 16 and served a year before going to prison for drug trafficking at age 23 – […]

Jelly added that he “thought that having the whole Stagecoach serenade her with “Happy Birthday” would be a really cool way to embarrass her as a father.”

In addition to being one of Friday night’s headliners, Jelly Roll was also a scheduled guest for an afternoon cooking demonstration at Flavortown (at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California). Guy Fieri invites country stars and pitmasters to grill with him during Stagecoach and hand out samples to his audience, while also raising awareness of the Guy Fieri Foundation, his nonprofit organization that supports various charitable causes.

Photos show Jelly Roll looked on proudly as Bailee showed off her cooking skills at Friday’s demonstration. She chopped ingredients and stirred peppers and onions on the grill while her father tenderized meat with his fellow singer Paul Cauthen.

Jelly (real name Jason DeFord) shares Bailee with an ex named Felicia, who gave birth to their child while he was in prison for drug trafficking in 2008. “During the lockdown, a security guard knocks on my cell door in the middle of the afternoon. He says, ‘You had a baby today,'” he said billboard in June 2023. “I have never had anything in my life that forced me to realize in the moment that I had to do something different. I have to figure this out now.”

The artist credits his wife as the reason he was able to be a better father. “They speak of a woman who came in and took a child that was soon to be born, and a child that was soon to be born [we were] Soon he will have sole custody,” he added. “Without her, I would never have gotten custody of my daughter. I wouldn’t have had the stability or the money.”

He also has 7-year-old son Noah Buddy with an ex named Melisa. He has previously said that he shares more of Bailee’s life because he doesn’t share custody. Jelly and Bunnie co-parent with Melisa, who has sole custody of Noah and therefore wants to respect their wishes.

Bailee, for her part, has been open about the struggles throughout her childhood and opened up about her trauma in her father’s Hulu documentary. Jelly Roll: Save me. “I had a particularly interesting and traumatic childhood. Bunnie did it, my father did it. They are important reasons why my mother is in my life now and is sober,” Bailee said in the document. “I moved on as a teenager. I worked through my childhood. But that doesn’t make it go away. It made me who I am today.”