Jesse Welles Setlist

— Acoustic:–

Sometimes You Bomb Iran
The Great Caucasian God
Join Ice
The List
United Health
The Poor
— Full Band:–
Domestic Error
Philanthropist
Red
God, Abraham & Xanax
Paranoid(Black Sabbathcover)
War is a God
Masks Off
Change Is in the Air
Malaise
It Don’t Come Easy
Have You Ever Seen the Rain? (Creedence Clearwater cover)
— Encore: —
Bugs
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door(Bob Dylan cover)
Gilgamesh
Anything But Me
Turtles
Take Me Home, Country Roads(John Denver cover)
Fear is the Mind Killer
War Isn’t Murder

S.G. Goodman Setlist

Satellite
Fire Sign
Snapping Turtle
The Way
Nature’s Child
I Can See the Devil
Space and Time
Which Side Are You On? (Florence Reece cover)

Downtown Minneapolis was cold and dreary and not much fun to walk in the stinging rain. Still there was a kinetic energy in the streets as traffic pooled and caused congestion.

It was that kind of night where everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get to Cardi B’s. show. Even a fire engine with lights blazing pulled up to the Target Center as if the firefighters were there to assist with a medical emergency or looking for scalped tickets.

Across the street, First Ave was a little more casual, but no less enthused, as two Southern singer songwriters were about to take the stage.

The crowd was already at capacity when S.G. Goodman started off the evening.

We last saw her at the Turf Club, opening for Madison Cunningham in 2021, writing about her Twin Cities debut:

We learned that she’s “legally obligated” to say her name seven times, as her manager thinks it’s good for name recognition… After her penultimate song, “Big Girl Now” was played, someone in the audience shouted out, “You’re S.G. Goodman!”, for which she thanked them and said, “I’m gonna count that as number six.” And, yes, she did end her entire set by saying her name a seventh time, “I’m S.G. Goodman!

Goodman was supporting her debut album Old Time Feeling in 2021. Last night she was supporting her latest, Planting by the Signs. She even started off playing the album’s first two songs “Satellite” and “Fire Sign” Then later in her set “I Can See the Devil” and a personal favorite “Nature’s Child.”

As her brief set drew to a close, Goodman sang the achingly tender “Space on Time” before ending with “Which Side Are You On?” a cover by Florence Reece about the Harlan County miners’ strike.

Next up was Jesse Welles from Ozark, Arkansas.

Unless you’ve been living under a social media blackout, your feeds have been showing viral posts of him in an open field with an acoustic guitar in hand and power lines overhead.

His songs ran like a running commentary of the news of the day. And what caught my attention was how earnest, clever and funny they were.

Welles is a prolific musician. Before the pandemic he released eight albums under the name Jeh Sea Wells. And since 2024 he has released another eight albums under his actual name, his music registering with a great many who crammed into every nook and corner of First Ave as he stepped on the stage with his acoustic guitar to sing “Sometimes You Bomb Iran” and the Twin Cities’ related “Join Ice” and “United Health.”

Then the news was done, and Wells kicked off a set with a full band, concert lights, a big sound and a giant American flag that stretched the full length of the stage.

Many came to hear the solo work, but it became clear that Welles knew how to put on a proper show. I felt that he and his band hit their stride with “Red” with verbal gymnastics and extended solos. Then “Masks Off” in which Welles cleverly veered into the realm of rap:

Be good to your god
And be good to your Bayer
Take yer aspirin and your Roundup
And say all your prayers

Then there was “God, Abraham & Xanax” in which Welles took control with an extended guitar solo. And for the first time during his set, there was a slight smile as he leaned back with his guitar.

Sometimes the news can be fun.

Note: Jesse Welles team asked that only the first three songs be photographed. So, you will have to imagine how big the flag was.