For every musician who made it “big,” there are countless others who tried, failed, and hung up the act. But for some, like viral folk singer-songwriter Jesse Welles, he did both. He tried, landed a record deal, subsequently failed, hung it up, moved back home, took up running, and then, just when he thought that music might not be the career for him, he made it.
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Indeed, those quippy videos you’ve seen of Welles “singing the news” in front of a tree line aren’t the first forays he’s had in the music industry. It’s just likely the first experience you’ve heard about, proving that sometimes, the best things in life come to you when you stop looking for them.
Before He Was A Singing Folkie, He Was An Indie Rock Frontman
From his no-frills guitar accompaniment to his raspy voice (once compared to “burnt toast” by a rather creative classmate) to his ingenious lyricism reminiscent of the late, great John Prine, Jesse Welles seems to be an enigmatic blend of everyone’s favorite grunge, folk, and punk artists all wrapped into one. Does he sound like Kurt Cobain? Yes. Does he sound like John Prine? Also yes. Would his lyrics make any punk smile from one gauged ear to the other? You guessed it. In almost Bob Dylan fashion, Welles seemed to burst on the online scene with a wave of fresh, non-partisan social commentary that was easy to digest while also being a swift punch to the gut.
However, the idea that Welles sprung up like a lovable weed from the rolling hills of the Arkansas Ozarks is merely an illusion of the industry (and internet). He’d actually been around for quite a while, landing a record deal at 22 with 300 Entertainment, a label whose roster also includes Mary J. Blige, Young Thug, and Fetty Wap. His indie band, Welles, opened for countless bands across the country and stayed heavy on the festival circuit.
But after all that, Welles admitted in a February 2025 interview with the New York Times, “There you are, 500 shows later and nothing to show for it. When you’ve got that many folks involved, it’s an investment. They want something to pop off. When it doesn’t, and you’ve done all the festivals, the music video, the tours, and they’ve moved on to something else, there’s no one left for them to blame but you. And there’s no one for me to blame but me.”
Why Jesse Welles Started Singing The News
In the seemingly endless sea of social media musicians, it takes a lot for a single account to break through the algorithmic chaos and grab the masses’ attention. For Jesse Welles, the magic has always been in his lyricism. His ability to churn out songs that reflect headlines someone just read while doomscrolling on their app of choice elevated him to viral status. Welles’ poignant, comedic, and biting lyricism covers everything from war to rampant commercialism to Ozempic to microplastics. Despite the fact that his social media presence is almost exclusively built on singing about current events, he does so in a way that’s impressively universal and bipartisan.
After failing as an indie rock frontman and moving back home to Arkansas, Welles downloaded the TikTok app and began scrolling through videos of people covering popular folk songs. At first, he joined in on the cover train. “Then my old man had a heart attack,” Welles told the New York Times. “And something just snapped in me. I started singing the news. It’s a way to make sense of what’s going on around me.”
In yet another testament to his unwillingness to be anything but completely himself, Welles released a full-length album, Middle, in late February 2025 that departed from the hyper-present protest anthems that contributed to his viral celebrity. Other artists would cling to what “worked” in an attempt to keep their lightning trapped in a bottle. Welles threw away the lid. No matter what comes next for Welles, he said, “I’ve been failing at this my entire life. I’m familiar with the feeling. I’m okay with it.” Now, there’s a song—and a useful morsel of creative guidance for all us songwriters out there.
Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images
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