‘Still in disbelief’: Jelly Roll offers to pay student loans for Manitoba university students

Two Manitobans are set to have their student loans paid off by a country music star. Danton Unger explains.

Two University of Manitoba students are getting a little extra help in achieving their educational goals, all thanks to Jelly Roll.

The popular country singer, best known for his songs “Son of a Sinner” and “Need A Favor,” performed a concert in Winnipeg Monday night. Deandra Courchene and Briana Knott were on the floor holding signs, asking him to help them pay their student loans. The pair is studying social work at the University of Manitoba.

A video posted by Courchene online shows Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, pausing the show and having the house lights turned on to address her and Knott.

“I’ll tell you what - you don’t got any student loans no more. I’m going to pay them off,” he said to cheers from the audience.

“I’m kind of still in disbelief on what happened,” said Courchene. “I woke up this morning and thought it was just a dream.”

They came up with the idea for the signs after seeing videos of the singer interacting with fans at another concert.

“We’re like, ‘let’s just try it,’” Knott said. “You know, if he doesn’t see it, he doesn’t see it, and if they tell us to put our signs away, we put them away.”

Instead, Jelly Roll acknowledged the signs within five minutes of taking the stage.

“We started freaking out,” Courchene said.

Jelly Roll told the girls there would be an agreement in place that he would pay the loans if they stayed in school to complete their studies. Courchene is scheduled to graduate in 2026, while Knott will graduate a year later.

The women exchanged contact with a member of Jelly Roll’s management team and received email communication on Tuesday. More details on the payment will come later in the week.

Both Knott and Courchene called Jelly Roll’s decision life-changing.

“I’m a mom of four, so as we were getting closer to the finish line, I started getting a little bit more nervous about what that looks like once I’m done school and how long it would take me to pay off the loans,” Courchene said.

“Him paying for my student loans will mean a lot, because I won’t have to worry about it when I do finish school, and I was worried about how I’ll pay it back,” Knott said. “So it will mean a lot to me and the children who I take care of.”

Jelly Roll visits Manitoba Youth Centre

It wasn’t the only charitable activity Jelly Roll did during his time in Winnipeg.

A government spokesperson confirmed to CTV News Winnipeg the country music star played basketball with inmates at the Manitoba Youth Centre.

Jelly Roll spent time in jail as a youth and into his 20s for various offences, including robbery, and often speaks to inmates at jails and detention centres while on tour.

CTV News Winnipeg has reached out to Jelly Roll’s team for comment.

• With files from CTV’s Danton Unger