Why Kevin James Delivered Surprise Performance With Jelly Roll

Kevin James said he “just happened” to be in the same city as Jelly Roll when the pair hilariously took the stage together at a music festival.

Jelly Roll, 40, surprised the crowd with the King of Queens star, 60, as a special guest at Buckeye Country Superfest in Columbus, Ohio. James dressed as Jelly Roll, and performed “Need a Favor” with the reigning iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Artist of the Year. James said in an interview with PEOPLE on Monday (June 30) that Jelly Roll is a “wonderful human being,” and “we just happened to be in Columbus together and we just went out and had fun.”

The actor and comedian also teamed up with Nate Smith and HARDY in recent months. The two artists released “Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend” earlier this year, and James appeared in the collaboration’s music video. Smith said in a recent interview with iHeartCountry that he asked James to appear in the video “on a whim,” and the actor “literally got on a plane and flew the next day. Now we’re just hanging out a ton and FaceTiming,” Smith said. “He’s such a good human being.”

Jelly Roll is part of the star-studded lineup of the genre-spanning iHeartRadio Music Festival presented to Capital One, which is slated to return later this year to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two-day festival will also include performances by Bryan Adams, Ed Sheeran, Feid, GloRilla, John Fogerty, Justice, Lil Wayne, LL COOL J, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Sammy Hagar, Tate McRae, The Offspring, Tim McGraw and more to be announced.

The 2025 iHeartRadio Music Festival will take place on September 19 and 20. Fans can tune in to the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Festival as the music mega event will be broadcast live each night via iHeartMedia radio stations throughout the country across more than 150 markets. Hulu will be the Official Streaming Destination of the festival, with performances livestreamed each night exclusively to all Hulu subscribers. Tickets go on sale to the general public on AXS.com beginning Friday, June 13th at 2pm ET/ 11am PT. Find more info here.