Jesse Welles
Jesse Welles | |
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 Jesse Welles in 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jesse Allen Breckenridge Wells |
| Also known as | Welles Jeh Sea Wells Breck Shipley |
| Born | November 22, 1992 Ozark, Arkansas, United States |
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| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | 300 Entertainment[1] |
| Formerly of |
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| Website | wellesmusic |
Jesse Allen Breckenridge Wells (born 22 November 1992), known professionally as Jesse Welles, or simply Welles, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He released his debut studio album, Red Trees and White Trashes in 2018.[2] Welles previously performed under the name Jeh Sea Wells and was also the frontman of the bands Dead Indian, formed in 2012, and Cosmic-American, formed in 2015.[3]
In 2024, Welles garnered attention on social media for writing and performing folk protest songs, including "The Poor", "Cancer", "The Olympics",[4] and "United Health", as well as "War Isn't Murder", a track about the Israel-Palestinian War.[5] Vulture has described his music as "A mix of old-fashioned folkie signifiers and trending-topic populism, delivered in hooky snippets on social media several times weekly".[6]
Early life and influences
[edit]Welles was born in Ozark, Arkansas, and grew up there[7][8] in Northwest Arkansas.[2][5] He began playing guitar at age 11, and as a teenager he began recording songs which he sold on burned CDs. His musical influences growing up included the folk, country, classic rock, and Motown genres, as well as the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Nirvana.[9] Welles lived for a while until early 2016 in an abandoned building turned art commune in the mountains around Fayetteville.[2] He also cites "American wordsmiths" Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Cormac McCarthy, and Mark Twain as influences.[10]
Career
[edit]Under the name Jeh Sea Wells, Welles began his career around 2012, releasing home-made recordings of his music, posting them on sites including SoundCloud and Bandcamp. He formed the band Dead Indian in 2012, along with Dirk Porter and Simon Martin. In 2014, Welles released a song titled "Summer"[3] and shortly afterwards, another song entitled Xmas 97.[11] In 2015, he moved to Nashville to record songs with producer Dave Cobb.[12] Also in 2015, Welles released a cover of the Nirvana song "Heart-Shaped Box".[2][13] His band Dead Indian released two albums. In 2015, he and Simon Martin began a new band called Cosmic American with Skyler Greene and Blake Foster. They played on Fayetteville Public Television in 2016 and it was uploaded to YouTube. The band began recording an album but broke up before it was released.[citation needed]
In March 2017, Welles released a song titled "Life Like Mine" from his then-upcoming EP titled Codeine on C3 Records.[14] In May 2017, Welles released a music video for the song "Life Like Mine", from the EP.[15] Under the mononym Welles, he released the single "Rock N Roll" in April 2018, in promotion of his then-upcoming debut studio album Red Trees and White Trashes.[12] Cobb served as a producer on the album, which was released on June 15, 2018,[2] by 300 Entertainment. Reviewing the album for NPR, music critic Ann Powers wrote, "Red Trees and White Trashes has the heft and complexity to likely earn a few Grammy nominations; but it's also obvious that Wells will always be comfortable in some dirty rock and roll kitchen where, as he says in one song, 'everyone's kinda ugly in that way that looks pretty,' girls in blue bobs are smoking something illegal, and somebody's turned the amp up to 10 on the other side of the screen door."[2]
Welles has opened for such rock bands including Dead Sara,[16] Greta Van Fleet,[17] Rival Sons,[18] and Royal Blood.[17] In February 2019, Welles performed as a headliner at Schubas in Chicago.[8] In 2023, under the name Jesse Welles, he began playing cover songs on TikTok. After his father lived through a heart attack the following year, he began to write folk protest songs focused on current events. The songs, addressing topics including capitalism, microplastics and the fentanyl crisis in the United States, garnered attention on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.[4][5][9] He has released the singles "Cancer" and "The Olympics",[4] along with "War Isn't Murder", a protest song. His single "United Health", published weeks after the killing of Brian Thompson, criticizes UnitedHeathcare and its founder Richard T. Burke.[19] In September 2024, Welles played Farm Aid; he was introduced by Dave Matthews as "one of the best songwriters I’ve ever heard in my life."[9] He performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live in April 2025.[20]
Discography
[edit]As Jeh Sea Wells
[edit]Albums
[edit]- Indian Summer (2012)
- When We Die (2013)
- Demonstrations (2015)
- Chaff (2016)
- Gemini Sweethearts and Daisy Chains (2016)
- Pall Mall Church (2016)
- All of Life is Piss (2017)
- Space Camp Summer 18 (2018)
EPs
[edit]- So We Kept Looking (2013)
- non-essential business (2020)
- Q2 (2020)
- Joe Dirt Cobain (2020)
Singles
[edit]- "1 a.m." (2012)
- "Big Grey Sky" (2013)
- Summer (2014)
- "Xmas 97" (2014)
- "Don't Let Me Down" (2020)
As Welles
[edit]Albums
[edit]- Red Trees and White Trashes (2018)
- Alien Secrets (2023)
- Arkancide (2023)
- Arkancide 2 (2023)
- Arkancide 3 (2023)
EPs
[edit]- Codeine (2017, C3 Records)
Singles
[edit]- "Are You Feeling Like Me" (2017)
- "Seventeen" (2018)
As Jesse Welles
[edit]Albums
[edit]- Hells Welles (2024)
- Patchwork (2024)
- Middle (2025)
- Under The Powerlines (April 24 – September 24) (2025)
- Pilgrim (2025)
EPs
- All Creatures Great and Small (2024)
Singles
[edit]| Title | Year | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US AAA |
US Rock/Alt. Airplay | |||
| "The Olympics" | 2024 | — | — | Hells Wells |
| "Cancer" | — | — | ||
| "War Isn't Murder" | — | — | ||
| "Payola" | — | — | ||
| "The Poor" | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Walmart" | — | — | Patchwork | |
| "Have You Ever Seen the Rain (feat. Mt. Joy)" | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Bugs" | — | — | All Creatures Great and Small | |
| "United Health" | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Amazon Santa Claus" | — | — | ||
| "Horses" | 2025 | 2 | 29 | Middle |
| "Domestic Error" | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Friends" | — | — | ||
| "Pilgrim" | — | — | Pilgrim | |
With Dead Indian
[edit]Albums
[edit]- Lead Me to the Sky (2013)
- When We Live (2014)
EPs
[edit]- Grey (2013)
- Far Out – The Covers (2015)
With Cosmic-American
[edit]EPs
[edit]- Out Far (2015)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Prickett, Macon. "Welles' Debut Album Red Trees and White Trashes Coming This Summer". Broadway World. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Powers, Ann (June 7, 2018). "On His Debut Album, Welles Pretties Up Dirty Rock and Roll". NPR. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ a b "Premiere: Jeh Sea Wells – "Summer"". Pigeons and Planes. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Troyer, William (April 25, 2024). "Fresh Finds Friday: New projects from folk, alt scenes". The Post. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c Smith, Ernie (April 24, 2024). ""War Isn't Murder": A Protest Song Built for Social Media". Tedium.co. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ Denton, Jack (February 26, 2025). "Will the Revolution Start at a Jesse Welles Concert?". Vulture. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ White, Caitlin. "Premiere: Welles' Deadhead Desperation Simmers On His Debut Single 'Are You Feeling Like Me'". Uproxx. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Hyman 2019, pp. 4-1.
- ^ a b c Peisner, David (February 12, 2025). "Jesse Welles, a Folk Musician Who 'Sings the News,' Is Turning the Page". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ Burditt, Peter (February 20, 2025). "Exclusive: Jesse Welles Talks 'Fear Is the Mind Killer' Tour & Songwriting Muses on Upcoming Album, 'Middle'". American Songwriter. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ "Premiere: Jeh Sea Wells – "Xmas '97"". Pigeons and Planes. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Fu, Eddie (April 18, 2018). "Welles shares the Origins of his new single, "Rock N Roll": Stream". Consequence. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ Frydenlund, Zach. "Listen to Jeh-sea Wells' Cover Of Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box"". Complex. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ Kaye, Ben (March 20, 2017). "Welles look back on a "Life Like Mine" on new single — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
- ^ McNally, Darby. "Exclusive: Watch Welles' Psychedelic Debut Video, "Life Like Mine"". Paste. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ^ "Events". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. p. 13. Retrieved May 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Hyman 2019, pp. 4-4.
- ^ "Welles to open for Rival Sons". The Mountain Eagle. April 25, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ Hudak, Joseph (December 12, 2024). "Jesse Welles Eviscerates UnitedHealthcare in New Protest Song". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ "Jesse Welles – The Poor". youtube.com. April 5, 2025.
Sources
[edit]- Hyman, Dan (February 19, 2019). "Wells has rock 'n' roll history behind him". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved May 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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