Review: Jesse Welles at The Anthem on Oct. 21

Arkansan singer-songwriter Jesse Welles visited The Anthem in D.C. last Wednesday, Oct. 21, making one of the final stops on his Red Tour. Joined by lofi-folk artist Hudson Freeman as his opener, Welles brought a combination of true-to-form acoustic folk and ventures into rock styles that emphasized his blunt political messages.

Welles began the show with “The Nerd Reich,” scoring massive cheers with lines like “they hired a clown, we get the whole damn circus.” Sporting his usual guitar and harmonica, Welles performed the first two songs solo before inviting the band to join him, comprised of Adam Meisterhans on electric guitar, Joel Parks on bass and backing vocals, Connor Streeter on Drums, and Bobby Steinfeld on keyboard.

With the band onstage, Welles switched gears (and guitars) from his signature stripped-back sound to something more rock-inspired, featuring distorted electric guitar solos from both him and Meisterhans throughout the night. The changes caught me by surprise, but made for an incredible experience. For instance, they transformed the irony-doused track “Join ICE” from a somber acoustic song into upbeat rockabilly, emphasizing its satire all the more. Later, they slowed down again for bleaker songs like “Technopagans.”

I ended up dancing through a lot of the set, as did much of the crowd. The cluster of teenagers to my right spent half the show doing some mild headbanging while the couple to my left, who I guessed were in their 60s, waved their hands in the air. It wasn’t the vibe I’d anticipated at all, and I absolutely loved it.

Despite his intense political messaging, Welles barely addressed the audience directly. He seemed a bit shy, even. But really, he didn’t need to say much—his lyrics certainly spoke for themselves. They captured the mixture of emotions about the state of the world expressed in Welles’s lyrics: mourning, hope, outrage, and joyful resistance, all at once.