Jesse Welles

About

Also known as: Jesse Wells, Welles

Jesse Welles is the kind of songwriter who can turn a headline into a folk song in a few days and post it before the news cycle moves on. After years of making rock records, including a 2018 debut produced by Dave Cobb, he reinvented himself in 2024 by posting short protest songs on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Tracks like "Cancer", "The Olympics", "United Health" and "War Isn't Murder" tackle everything from healthcare to the Gaza war, and earned him comparisons to Woody Guthrie. The attention snowballed fast. Dave Matthews introduced him at Farm Aid as one of the best songwriters he had ever heard, and Welles went on to play Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He picked up the John Prine Songwriter Fellowship from Newport Folk Festival, a Spirit of Americana/Free Speech Award, and four Grammy nominations in 2026.