97.3 KBCO is proud to present An Evening With Jesse Welles, a singular night of music and storytelling at the historic Ogden Theatre on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 16 at 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time and are available at https://www.axs.com/events/972032/jesse-welles-tickets.
Jesse Welles has emerged as a modern-day troubadour, carrying forward the time‑honored tradition of the traveling songwriter who bears witness to his era. With tens of millions of streams and critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and beyond, Welles confronts today’s most urgent social fissures—from healthcare inequities to the scourge of addiction—without flinching. Yet he tempers his blues‑infused insights with humor and humanity, whether he’s commanding a sold‑out club or simply strumming beneath the vast Arkansas sky in a viral smartphone video.
Raised in Ozark, Arkansas, by a mechanic father and a schoolteacher mother, Welles learned early that music could transform pain into purpose. At twelve, he saved up for a $56 beginner’s guitar and spent childhood afternoons checking out Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Woody Guthrie CDs from the public library, devouring their words and melodies. That passion led him to Nashville, where he logged more than 280 tour dates in a single year, sharing stages with Royal Blood, Greta Van Fleet, Highly Suspect, and Dead Sara.
A mid‑pandemic label drop and a stint at a vegan meat manufacturer brought Welles back home to Arkansas. In February 2024, while sitting beside his father’s hospital bed reading a Woody Guthrie biography, he decided to let his music speak raw and unfiltered. The result was a series of solo performances filmed outdoors—songs like “Cancer,” “Fentanyl,” and “War Isn’t Murder” resonated so profoundly that his Instagram audience swelled by over one million followers. He followed with two albums, Hells Welles and Patchwork, and captured national attention with “United Health,” a trenchant critique of America’s medical system hailed by Rolling Stone as “a John Prine‑like ballad.”
Now, Welles returns with Middle, his 2025 full‑length album that digs deep into the heart of a divided nation. Its first single, “Horses,” is a pro‑love anthem rooted in the belief that empathy brings more nourishment than fear or hate. “Hate is a whip for the mule,” he explains. “Build up walls or lean into love—only one of those feeds the soul.”
An Evening With Jesse Welles promises an intimate, unforgettable performance as he unveils new material from Middle and revisits the songs that have defined his journey. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience one of today’s most fearless voices in a venue as storied as the Ogden Theatre.
97.3 KBCO Presents
An Evening With Jesse Welles
Ogden Theatre
935 E Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80218
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Tickets on sale Friday, May 16 at 10:00 a.m. MT
https://www.axs.com/events/972032/jesse-welles-tickets
