Minnesota Country Club Festival makes a scorching first impression
by Joel Swenson
Saturday afternoon belonged to Jesse Welles, who flat-out stole the entire weekend. Armed at first with just an acoustic guitar, harmonica, and a message, the folk singer gave a masterclass in holding a festival crowd’s attention on his own before his four-piece band joined him for an electrified “Join ICE” that set off the chant from the audience. As something of a Trump-era Woody Guthrie, Welles ran through his now-ubiquitous protest songs (“The Poor,” “United Health,” “Domestic Error”) plus covers of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” that proved he can shred with the best of them. If anyone can unite this country against the rise of fascism, my money’s on Jesse Welles.
https://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2026/07/13/recap-photos-minnesota-country-club-festival-makes-a-scorching-first-impression
