Featured Photo by Jaelee Roberts
Story by Nate Kindma
On Sept. 19, Jaelee Roberts stood front and center in the spotlight of the Grand Ole Opry. Beyond the stage was the audience; beneath her was a circle of flooring brought from the Ryman, the Opry’s first home. On this hallowed ground of country music, with her bright pink dress shimmering in the light, Roberts began to strum a guitar and sing.
It was a special night for the Middle Tennessee State University alumna, who graduated in August. The occasion marked her first solo appearance at the Opry. She has played for other performers at the Opry, but on this night, the focus was solely on the multi-talented singer and songwriter.
Roberts is no stranger to the stage. She grew up in the music scene. Her father, Danny Roberts, is the mandolin player for a celebrated bluegrass band called the Grascals, whose roots stretch back to 2004. In their nearly 20 years of performing, the group has earned three Grammy nominations and won the Entertainer of the Year Award twice from the International Blue Grass Association. The Grascals have appeared on Opry more than 200 times. They have performed at the Ryman Auditorium and Radio City Music Hall as well as played with country music elites like Dolly Parton, Hank Williams Jr. and Eric Church to name a few.
Roberts attended many of her father’s shows at the Opry, making herself at home backstage since she was four years old. She even got to play with her father a few times as well. There was no question about this daughter following in her dad’s footsteps. Growing up around her musical heroes, Roberts knew she wanted to continue that legacy.
“I can’t remember a time where I didn’t want to be a singer, or a songwriter, or a guitar player,” Roberts said.
Even before her solo debut at the Opry, she had already performed in front of some large audiences. At the Country Music Television New Artist of the Year Awards, Roberts sang background vocals for country music star Gabby Barrett.
Roberts is the lead vocalist and guitar player for Sister Sadie, a Nashville-based, all-female bluegrass band that formed in 2012. Since its conception, the group has won an International Bluegrass Music Association Vocal Group of the Year award and earned a Grammy nomination in 2019 for Bluegrass Album of the Year.
Roberts’ solo debut at the Opry came just five weeks after her August graduation from MTSU with a degree in commercial songwriting.
“I am so thankful for MTSU. I learned so much about how to (write songs) and how to co-write with people, I have learned what to look for in a contract. MTSU granted me so many opportunities,” Roberts said.
Her first solo gig at the Opry was not expected, she said. In July, Roberts was attending the funeral of bluegrass legend Bobby Osborne of the Osborne Brothers, the first group to record Tennessee’s beloved “Rocky Top.”
At the funeral, she was approached by Dan Rogers, the Opry’s executive producer, and Gina Keltner, the Opry’s director of talent and scheduling. The pair told Roberts they wanted her to perform as a solo artist at the Opry. At the Sept. 19 performance, she sang two songs, “Something You Didn’t Count On” from her first solo record and “I’m Not Lisa,” a Jessi Colter cover.
“It was absolutely breathtaking and amazing… When I stepped out onto that circle to sing, it was almost like I could feel all of my heroes that have come before me through me while I was singing.”
Nate Kindma is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines.
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