Blog

Live & Direct – 91.3 WYEP Tuesday, February 25, 2025 Kyle Smith: We are live and direct today with Jesse Welles, and I’m joined by a whole roof of WYEP members. They’re here on a cloudy, rainy day, and we’re excited because Jesse Welles is here, and we’re going to talk about his new album, […]

Why Jesse Welles Just Released a 63-Song Album If you need any further illustration of the creative explosion that Jesse Welles has been the catalyst and accelerant for over the last year or so, appreciate that he just released a 63-song album encapsulating a six month time period between April of 2024 to September of […]

Will the Revolution Start at a Jesse Welles Concert? At a sold-out Bowery Ballroom on Friday night, fans were stressed. They had been reading the news. Drowning in it. They’d made a separate group chat to keep the headlines away from the joy. They were watching Maddow and reading the AP for 20 minutes daily before law […]

We are thrilled to announce that our 2025 John Prine Songwriter Fellowship recipient will be Jesse Welles. Founded in partnership with John’s family, the Fellowship celebrates the legacy and impact that John had, and continues to have, on the Newport Folk community. Each year, one songwriter who embodies John’s spirit is chosen as the recipient. […]

Jesse Welles, a Folk Musician Who ‘Sings the News,’ Is Turning the Page The 30-year-old known for strumming his guitar to tunes about hot topics is releasing a new album, “Middle,” that avoids current events. In a small home recording studio on a Monday afternoon in January, Jesse Welles sat with a guitar on his […]

Jesse Welles, the Viral Protest Singer, Announces New Album ‘Middle’ The songwriter, who has lambasted topics ranging from American healthcare to capitalism, previews the upcoming LP with the “pro-love song” “Horses” Jesse Welles, the gravelly-voiced songwriter who is reviving protest songs through a series of self-shot videos, will release his new studio album, Middle, next month. […]

It’s rare to find a storyteller with the potency of the greats — the Springsteens, Dylans and Prines of the world — but when you hear it, it’s something you recognize immediately. Arkansas singer-songwriter Jesse Welles’ “Patchwork” boasts this authority from the first strum. His refined folk styling blends pop culture, current events and autobiographical trimmings […]

Jesse Welles: A Musical Vessel Like No Other “I feel like a vessel for the marijuana,” he said. We’d just roasted a few dabs of hash oil and were hanging out on our second-floor balcony at the Hill Place apartments in Fayetteville, Arkansas. For those unfamiliar, hash oil is a highly concentrated form of THC, likened in […]

Jesse Welles Eviscerates UnitedHealthcare in New Protest Song The buzzy songwriter tells the story of corporate healthcare in a John Prine-like ballad Songwriter Jesse Welles has been turning heads with his solo acoustic protest songs about the war in Gaza (“War Isn’t Murder”) and capitalism (“Amazon Santa Claus”), earning a devoted following online and at his sold-out […]

Welle’s ‘Joe Dirt Cobain’ EP is a Heavy, Guitar-Powered Trip The catchy EPs that Welles has been building solo at home and quietly releasing for free (three now since April) have been major bright spots this year. Carefully constructed yet raw, each one explores a different genre, dishing out surprises that seem designed to put a smile under your […]

Welles’ Quarantine EP Series Brings Another Twist with ‘Q2’ Just eighteen days after he cured our isolation blues with a surprise jazz funk EP called Non-Essential Business, Jesse Wells casually unveiled his “second quarantine EP.” His self-described “country folk americana whatever” release, entitled Q2, includes five feel-good songs that have repeatedly made us grin – whether over the […]

Welles Unveils Groovy Surprise EP ‘Non-Essential Business’ Knowing Jesse Wells, he probably didn’t realize how much he was making our week. Maybe our whole month, whatever month it is. Right when the world really needed a pick-me-up, Welles unveiled a funky new EP on Bandcamp entitled Non-Essential Business. There was seemingly no advance notice aside from a photo on the […]