Austin City Limits will tape a performance by Jesse Welles on Thursday, October 8th at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd). Austin City Limits Taping Giveaways are presented by AXS Events.
Winners will be chosen at random and a photo ID will be required to pick up tickets. Winners will be notified via email. Duplicate entries for a single taping will be automatically voided. Tickets are not transferable and will be voided if sold. Standing may be required. No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio. No cameras, computers or recording devices allowed in the venue. While we do our best to accommodate all winners, we cannot guarantee admission. These passes are based on space available therefore you will be filling in spots available on the floor or balcony depending on the tickets that are available when you arrive. Read our helpful Know Before You Go guide for more information.
When you listen to Jesse Welles, you can practically hear the veil between lie and truth being lifted. The Ozark, Arkansas singer-songwriter and guitarist has emerged as a singular voice in folk and Americana, pairing plainspoken lyrics with rock ‘n’ roll attitude and an unflinching willingness to address the world around him. In 2024, Welles began self-filming performances beneath power lines in the Arkansas woods, capturing the naked intensity of his songwriting on a standard smartphone camera. The performances sparked a grassroots phenomenon, with viral anthems including “War Isn’t Murder,” “The Poor,” “That Can’t Be Right,” and “United Health” attracting millions of followers and nearly one billion total views and streams.
Welles’s breakneck pace has continued: over two years, he released eight full-length albums and dozens of songs, while earning a remarkable four 2026 GRAMMY Award nominations. He is also nominated for “Artist of the Year” at the 2026 Americana Awards and received the association’s prestigious “Spirit of Americana Award” for Free Speech in 2025. He has collaborated with kindred spirits, including Joan Baez, Billy Strings, and Sierra Ferrell, and his music has drawn praise from Vulture, Rolling Stone, NPR, Billboard, and CBS News, which urged listeners wondering whether folk music is still relevant to “take a listen to Jesse Welles.”
His latest album, Masks Off, continues Welles’s tradition of confronting the moment with candor, humor and hope. The album explores themes of collective unrest, abuse of power, I.C.E. raids, and technopagans, while also revealing the introspective and personal side of his songwriting. It pairs these new reflections with studio versions of fan-favorite protest songs that have become staples of his live set. A road-tested performer who logged more than 280 shows in a year, Welles continues to share truths—whether confronting the brazenness of society’s “haves” or offering more intimate reflections on life. “I’m still living where I was living, I’m still doing what I was doing, and I’m still wearing the same jeans that I was two years ago,” he says. “I’m still putting out music as fast as I can write it. I haven’t changed.”