Entertainment
Jesse Welles: Keeping the spirit of American folk music alive
The story of America can be told through the lyrics of folk music – songs of the Great Depression, the civil rights era, and the social revolutions of the 1960s. As folk singer Pete Seeger put it in 1967, “A song isn’t a speech; a song is not an editorial. If a song tries to be an editorial or a speech, often it fails as a song. The best songs tell a story, paint a picture, and leave the conclusion up actually to the listener.”
And if you’re wondering whether folk music is still relevant today, take a listen to Jesse Welles. He is 33 years old, with a voice older than his years, and a message that speaks across generations:
It ain’t the banks
And it ain’t the taxes
It ain’t the payday loans and the high rent homes
And predatory fees and practices …
If you worked a little harder
Then you’d have a lot more
So the blame and the shame’s on you
For being so damn poor, yeah
From “The Poor”
CBS News
If it seems fitting right now to have a guy with six strings singing about the times, Welles said, “Every dog has its day!”
Well, it’s your own damn fault you’re so damn fat
Shame, shame, shame
All the food on the shelf was engineered for your health
So you’re gonna have to take the blame
From “Fat”
Welles can be soft-spoken in person, but behind the microphone he sings loud and clear. He takes aim at anyone he thinks takes advantage of working people – the “folks” in folk music.
There ain’t no “you” in UnitedHealth
There ain’t no “me” in the company
There ain’t no “us” in the private trust
There’s hardly “humans” in humanity
From “UnitedHealth”
At a Greenwich Village record store last fall, Welles dug through his musical roots, and his mother’s influence: “She really liked Crosby, Stills and Nash, and she liked Fleetwood Mac,” he said. “She liked pretty, pretty music. But no one was really talking about Dylan. So, I suppose that was maybe the first solo space mission I flew, was to go and find, like, some hard folk music.”
CBS News
He was in New York to perform on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” where he chose a song that speaks to the unease some feel about our moment in history:
Join ICE,
Boy, ain’t it nice?
Join ICE
Take my advice
If you’re lackin’ control and authority,
Come with me and hunt down minorities
Join ICE
From “Join ICE”
Welles is up for four Grammy Awards Sunday, recognition that this troubadour from Ozark, Arkansas, never expected, especially considering his talents seemed to be more on the football field rather than the stage.
He wasn’t always comfortable with his voice, which his sister said sounds like burnt toast. “But burnt toast is still edible!” he laughed.
With that simple and direct “‘burnt toast” sound, Welles gets millions of views on social media.
War isn’t murder
Good men don’t die
Children don’t starve
And all women survive
War isn’t murder
That’s what they say
When you’re fighting the devil
Murder’s okay
From “War Isn’t Murder”
He tapes himself, alone in the Arkansas hills, with lyrics that can seem ripped from the headlines, as in “No Kings.” But he laughs when asked if he sees himself as a political figure: “A political … ? Wow! No!”
Those songs got their start in his spare bedroom-turned-studio, where he played for us a new one:
I knew a man, his only wish
To answer to no one, drink like a fish.
He worked real hard and he got it all.
There was plenty to drink, and no one to call.
If you look down the road, you’ll see the sun
And it makes time, as you take time,
Just to end where you’ve begun.
I’ve got peace like a river.
I’ve got time.
I don’t need a thing
That ain’t already mine.
From “Peace Like a River”
Asked what he’s trying to say in his songs, Welles replied, “I can’t tell you what it means. Like, it’s up to everybody. Nobody is going to paint anything and tell you, ‘This is what I mean when I painted this.’ You know, that’s no fun. That takes away your experience.”
Welles has been embraced by legends of folk and rock. He recently performed with John Fogerty, and late last year he went into the studio with Joan Baez, bridging generations and bringing in new audiences.
Joan Baez and Jesse Welles perform “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” at The Filmore in San Francisco:
For Jesse Welles, it is his way of keeping the spirit of American folk music alive. “I think it’s important that it doesn’t go away,” he said. “It’s something that you know has been going on, it’s been going on for centuries and centuries. You wake up one morning and you go, this is what I do. This is what I was supposed to do.”
You can stream Jesse Welles’ Grammy-nominated album “Under the Powerlines (April 24 – September 24)” by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full):
For more info:
Story produced by Ed Forgotson. Editor: Carol Ross.
Entertainment
Fans slam Anne Hathaway over Met Gala snap with Blake Lively
Anne Hathaway is facing a wave of online backlash after being pictured cosying up to Blake Lively at the 2026 Met Gala.
The controversy erupted after a photo, posted by Variety on Tuesday morning, showed Lively with her arm around a smiling Hathaway inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Fans were quick to scold the Devil Wears Prada star for the association, particularly as Lively’s bombshell appearance came just hours after she settled a highly divisive and explosive legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni.
The reaction on social media has been swift and brutal, with many fans expressing deep disappointment in Hathaway.
One X user urged the actress to get away from Lively before she was sued, while others questioned why Hathaway would risk her hard-won public popularity by posing with someone many have labelled a “bully”.
The anger has even spilled over into calls for a boycott of Hathaway’s latest film, The Devil Wears Prada 2, with some disgruntled viewers claiming she has ruined the movie’s release by associating with Lively.
Lively’s presence at the star-studded event was a major surprise to those following the Vogue livestream, as it marked her first public outing since the conclusion of her lawsuit.
The legal drama, which began in December 2024, saw Lively accuse Baldoni and his production company of sexual harassment and retaliation.
However, a judge recently dismissed the majority of her claims, including all of the sexual harassment allegations, leaving the two parties to settle the remaining counts of breach of contract and retaliation out of court on Monday.
Despite the heavy atmosphere surrounding her legal woes, Lively appeared completely unbothered on the night, wearing a colourful archival Atelier Versace gown from 2006.
The settlement between Lively and Baldoni was framed by their legal teams as a way to find closure and move forward in peace, yet the public’s reaction to the Met Gala snap suggests that a “respectful environment online” remains a long way off.
While the film It Ends With Us was a box office hit in 2024, the off-screen friction clearly continues to shadow those involved.
For Hathaway, what was likely intended as a simple social moment has turned into a significant PR headache, as fans continue to slam the actress for her choice of company on fashion’s biggest night.
Entertainment
Kadeem Hardison calls ‘Euphoria’ costar Zendaya ‘a boss’
Kadeem Hardison has described his former Disney Channel daughter and current Euphoria co-star Zendaya as “a boss”, following their surprise on-screen reunion.
The pair, who starred together as father and daughter on the hit show K.C. Undercover a decade ago, have reunited for the latest season of the gritty HBO drama.
Hardison joined the cast as Big Eddy, a character working alongside Zendaya’s Rue in a strip club managed by drug lord Alamo.
The reunion has been a long time coming for the duo, who stayed in touch after their Disney days.
Hardison revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that it was Zendaya herself who introduced him to Euphoria creator Sam Levinson during a holiday dinner.
He admitted that when he first watched the show at its premiere, he was “wildly uncomfortable” seeing the intense world it depicted, which was a far cry from their family-friendly beginnings.
However, after meeting Levinson and visiting the set, he eventually landed the role of Big Eddy.
Reflecting on how much Zendaya has changed since she was a teenager, Hardison noted that while she has matured, her leadership qualities were visible even when she was 16.
He recalled being impressed that she was an executive producer on their Disney show, and he is even more struck by how she has expanded that role into her film career.
“She’s always been that person and she’s always been a boss,” he said, jokingly referring to the multi-award-winning actress as his “little big sister” because she is often the more mature one of the two.
The latest episode provided plenty of dramatic meat for both actors, with Hardison’s character caught in a violent drug war.
He confessed that watching Zendaya’s performance now is a shock compared to their early work, admitting he didn’t know she had such “depth” and felt he had to work hard to keep up with her.
For Hardison, whose career stretches back over three decades to A Different World, the experience was a full-circle moment that proved his own advice to fellow actors: as long as you stay in the game, the next big hit is always just around the corner.
Entertainment
Jimmy Kimmel roasts Donald, Melanie Trump even after warning
Jimmy Kimmel is pressing ahead with jokes about President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, brushing off White House pressure and calls for him to be taken off air.
On his Monday, 4 May, show, Kimmel took aim at the president’s late-night posting activity on Truth Social, singling out a photo Trump shared of his wife.
“At 11:04, he posted this even more unbelievable picture of Melania smiling,” Kimmel said to laughter from the studio audience.
“I don’t know the last time we saw that.”
He also picked up on Trump’s weekend remarks at a Florida retirement community, where the president claimed Melania “hates” when he dances on stage to Y.M.C.A. by the Village People, which Trump called “the gay national anthem.”
“Melania hates when you do things? No way!” Kimmel quipped. “What a buzzkill.”
The jokes come as Kimmel finds himself in the middle of a serious escalation with the White House.
The dispute flared after a 23 April episode in which he described Melania as having “a glow like an expectant widow.”
Two days later, a gunman rushed security at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
The suspected shooter, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was subsequently charged with attempting to assassinate the president.
Melania, who had attended the dinner, made a rare public statement ahead of the court appearance, directly criticising Kimmel.
“People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate,” she wrote on X.
“Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand.”
White House communications director Steven Cheung called Kimmel a “s— human being” and said he should be fired “immediately.”
Kimmel defended the original remark, describing it as an “obvious” joke about the age gap between the president, 79, and the first lady, 56.
He also addressed Melania directly, expressing genuine sympathy about the scare at the dinner.
“I am sorry that you and the president and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that. I really am. Just ’cause no one got killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic and scary.”
Trump himself weighed in during a Newsmax appearance, calling Kimmel “a lowlife, whether he apologized or not” and saying he “shouldn’t be on television.”
The president had previously threatened to “test” ABC after the network briefly suspended Kimmel in September over remarks about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
ABC and its parent company Disney are facing mounting pressure from the administration.
The Federal Communications Commission last week ordered a review of ABC’s station licences, citing a probe into possible violations of federal law and FCC rules at local ABC stations.
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