{"id":63597,"date":"2026-02-04T11:06:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/jesse-welles-keeping-the-spirit-of-american-folk-music-alive\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T11:06:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:06:43","slug":"jesse-welles-keeping-the-spirit-of-american-folk-music-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/jesse-welles-keeping-the-spirit-of-american-folk-music-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesse Welles: Keeping the spirit of American folk music alive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>The story of America can be told through the lyrics of folk music \u2013 songs of the Great Depression, the civil rights era, and the social revolutions of the 1960s. As folk singer Pete Seeger put it in 1967, &#8220;A song isn&#8217;t a speech; a song is not an editorial. If a song tries to be an editorial or a speech, often it fails as a song. The best songs tell a story, paint a picture, and leave the conclusion up actually to the listener.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And if you&#8217;re wondering whether folk music is still relevant today, take a listen to Jesse Welles. He is 33 years old, with a voice older than his years, and a message that speaks across generations: <\/p>\n<p><em>It ain&#8217;t the banks<br \/>And it ain&#8217;t the taxes<br \/>It ain&#8217;t the payday loans and the high rent homes<br \/>And predatory fees and practices \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If you worked a little harder<br \/>Then you&#8217;d have a lot more<br \/>So the blame and the shame&#8217;s on you<br \/>For being so damn poor, yeah<br \/>From &#8220;The Poor&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-large\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/01\/31\/c7ea856e-b7dd-4002-b2fe-9ab41fb90ae6\/thumbnail\/620x349\/a47201d1a38655a67f7b55d4a1a9cf36\/jesse-welles-b-1920.jpg#\" alt=\"jesse-welles-b-1920.jpg \" height=\"349\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/01\/31\/c7ea856e-b7dd-4002-b2fe-9ab41fb90ae6\/thumbnail\/620x349\/a47201d1a38655a67f7b55d4a1a9cf36\/jesse-welles-b-1920.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/01\/31\/c7ea856e-b7dd-4002-b2fe-9ab41fb90ae6\/thumbnail\/1240x698\/443e84d2213aec575eaedccd39c68d96\/jesse-welles-b-1920.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">Folk singer Jesse Welles performing at Webster Hall in New York City.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                CBS News<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If it seems fitting right now to have a guy with six strings singing about the times, Welles said, &#8220;Every dog has its day!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>Well, it&#8217;s your own damn fault you&#8217;re so damn fat<br \/>Shame, shame, shame<br \/>All the food on the shelf was engineered for your health<br \/>So you&#8217;re gonna have to take the blame<br \/>From &#8220;Fat&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Welles can be soft-spoken in person, but behind the microphone he sings loud and clear. He takes aim at anyone he thinks takes advantage of working people \u2013 the &#8220;folks&#8221; in folk music.<\/p>\n<p><em>There ain&#8217;t no &#8220;you&#8221; in UnitedHealth<br \/>There ain&#8217;t no &#8220;me&#8221; in the company<br \/>There ain&#8217;t no &#8220;us&#8221; in the private trust<br \/>There&#8217;s hardly &#8220;humans&#8221; in humanity<br \/>From &#8220;UnitedHealth&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>At a Greenwich Village record store last fall, Welles dug through his musical roots, and his mother&#8217;s influence: &#8220;She really liked Crosby, Stills and Nash, and she liked Fleetwood Mac,&#8221; he said. &#8220;She liked pretty, pretty music. But no one was really talking about Dylan. So, I suppose that was maybe the first solo space mission I flew, was to go and find, like, some hard folk music.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-large\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/01\/31\/807ccc03-c7de-4675-9d25-21abe597d56e\/thumbnail\/620x349\/1ddc30816edc55f06d1a59bbad403c9d\/robert-costa-jesse-welles-at-generation-records.jpg#\" alt=\"robert-costa-jesse-welles-at-generation-records.jpg \" height=\"349\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/01\/31\/807ccc03-c7de-4675-9d25-21abe597d56e\/thumbnail\/620x349\/1ddc30816edc55f06d1a59bbad403c9d\/robert-costa-jesse-welles-at-generation-records.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/01\/31\/807ccc03-c7de-4675-9d25-21abe597d56e\/thumbnail\/1240x698\/60f6ae9a7af4fdea9252e7a6b18f2642\/robert-costa-jesse-welles-at-generation-records.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">Correspondent Robert Costa with Jesse Welles at Generation Records in New York City.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                CBS News<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He was in New York to perform on CBS&#8217; &#8220;The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,&#8221; where he chose a song that speaks to the unease some feel about our moment in history:<\/p>\n<p><em>Join ICE,<br \/>Boy, ain&#8217;t it nice?<br \/>Join ICE<br \/>Take my advice<br \/>If you&#8217;re lackin&#8217; control and authority,<br \/>Come with me and hunt down minorities<br \/>Join ICE<br \/>From &#8220;Join ICE&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-youtube-video embed--float-none embed--size-large embed--type-video\">\n<p>\n    <iframe class=\"embed__content\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/61I4hlig78w?autoplay=0&amp;rel=1&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com&amp;playsinline=1\" height=\"113\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" title=\"\" join=\"\" ice\"=\"\" -=\"\" jesse=\"\" welles=\"\" (live=\"\" on=\"\" the=\"\" late=\"\" show)\"=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n  <\/p><figcaption>\n    <span class=\"embed__caption\"><br \/>\n      <cite><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/61I4hlig78w\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#8220;Join ICE&#8221; &#8211; Jesse Welles (LIVE on The Late Show)<\/a><\/cite> by<br \/>\n      <cite><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@ColbertLateShow\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Late Show with Stephen Colbert<\/a><\/cite> on<br \/>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">YouTube<\/a><br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Welles is up for four Grammy Awards Sunday, recognition that this troubadour from Ozark, Arkansas, never expected, especially considering his talents seemed to be more on the football field rather than the stage.<\/p>\n<p>He wasn&#8217;t always comfortable with his voice, which his sister said sounds like burnt toast. &#8220;But burnt toast is still edible!&#8221; he laughed. <\/p>\n<p>With that simple and direct &#8220;&#8216;burnt toast&#8221; sound, Welles gets millions of views on social media. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>War isn&#8217;t murder<br \/>Good men don&#8217;t die<br \/>Children don&#8217;t starve<br \/>And all women survive<br \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>War isn&#8217;t murder<br \/>That&#8217;s what they\u2005say<br \/>When\u2005you&#8217;re fighting the\u2005devil<br \/>Murder&#8217;s okay<br \/>From &#8220;War Isn&#8217;t Murder&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He tapes himself, alone in the Arkansas hills, with lyrics that can seem ripped from the headlines, as in &#8220;No Kings.&#8221; But he laughs when asked if he sees himself as a political figure: &#8220;A political \u2026 ? Wow! No!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Those songs got their start in his spare bedroom-turned-studio, where he played for us a new one: <\/p>\n<p><em>I knew a man, his only wish<br \/>To answer to no one, drink like a fish.<br \/>He worked real hard and he got it all.<br \/>There was plenty to drink, and no one to call.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If you look down the road, you&#8217;ll see the sun<br \/>And it makes time, as you take time,<br \/>Just to end where you&#8217;ve begun.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I&#8217;ve got peace like a river.<br \/>I&#8217;ve got time.<br \/>I don&#8217;t need a thing<br \/>That ain&#8217;t already mine.<br \/>From &#8220;Peace Like a River&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Asked what he&#8217;s trying to say in his songs, Welles replied, &#8220;I can&#8217;t tell you what it means. Like, it&#8217;s up to everybody. Nobody is going to paint anything and tell you, &#8216;This is what I mean when I painted this.&#8217; You know, that&#8217;s no fun. That takes away your experience.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Welles has been embraced by legends of folk and rock. He recently performed with John Fogerty, and late last year he went into the studio with Joan Baez, bridging generations and bringing in new audiences.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Joan Baez and Jesse Welles perform &#8220;Don&#8217;t Think Twice It&#8217;s Alright&#8221; at The Filmore in San Francisco:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-youtube-video embed--float-none embed--size-large embed--type-video\">\n<p>\n    <iframe class=\"embed__content\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/yKHynWzvnps?autoplay=0&amp;rel=1&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com&amp;playsinline=1\" height=\"113\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" title=\"Joan Baez and Jesse Welles - Don't Think Twice It's Alright\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n  <\/p><figcaption>\n    <span class=\"embed__caption\"><br \/>\n      <cite><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/yKHynWzvnps\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Joan Baez and Jesse Welles &#8211; Don&#8217;t Think Twice It&#8217;s Alright<\/a><\/cite> by<br \/>\n      <cite><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@hellswelles\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jesse Welles<\/a><\/cite> on<br \/>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">YouTube<\/a><br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For Jesse Welles, it is his way of keeping the spirit of American folk music alive. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s important that it doesn&#8217;t go away,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s something that you know has been going on, it&#8217;s been going on for centuries and centuries. You wake up one morning and you go, this is what I do. This is what I was supposed to do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>You can stream Jesse Welles&#8217; Grammy-nominated album &#8220;Under the Powerlines (April 24 \u2013 September 24)&#8221; by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full):<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For more info:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<br \/>Story produced by Ed Forgotson. Editor: Carol Ross.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n<\/section>\n<p>  <!-- data-recirc-source=\"chartbeat\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation component--type-recirculation-collection\" wp_automatic_readability=\"0.11559139784946\">\n<div class=\"component__item-recirc-block\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.2371134020619\">\n<h3 class=\"component__title\">Go deeper with The Free Press<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n      <!-- tags --><br \/>\n    <\/section>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     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