Jesse Welles, the Viral Protest Singer, Announces New Album ‘Middle’

Jesse Welles, the gravelly voiced songwriter who is reviving protest songs through a series of self-shot videos, will release his new studio album, Middle, next month.

But there’s nothing “middle” about Welles: He’s unflinchingly addressed hot-button topics like the war in Gaza, capitalism, and the U.S. healthcare system in his viral videos with song titles like “War Isn’t Murder,” “Amazon Santa Claus,” and “United Health.” The latter dropped just a week after the high-profile shooting of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in New York (“Now CEOs come and go and one just went/the ingredients you got bake the cake that you get,” Welles sang).

“Horses,” the first single from Middle, however, is sonically different from Welles’ acoustic ditties. The song opens with an electric guitar line, a propulsive drum beat, and some textured fiddle. Welles calls it a “pro-love song.” “Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to atrocities. You build up walls,” he says in a statement. “If you love everyone, it’s a lot easier on you — and everybody else too.”

Welles, whose videos have mostly been filmed beneath a power line in his native Arkansas, will release Middle, produced by Eddie Spear, on Feb. 21 and embark on a headlining tour on Feb. 15. Dubbed the “Fear Is the Mind Killer” tour after a song on Middle, its 25 dates are all sold out. Hopeful fans can sign up for a ticket waitlist.

Middle track list:
1. “Horses”
2. “Certain”
3. “I’m Sorry”
4. “Fear Is the Mind Killer”
5. “Wheel”
6. “Anything But Me”
7. “Every Grain of Sand”
8. “Simple Gifts”
9. “Why Don’t You Love Me”
10. “Rocket Man”
11. “War Is a God”
12. “Middle”