EAGLES’ SONG

The Wells Family Legacy

Jesse Wells (Class of 2007) lives a double life immersed in music. On one hand, Wells is the traditional music archivist, studio manager, and instructor at Morehead State’s Kentucky Center for Traditional Music (KCTM). On the other hand, he’s a member of singer/songwriter Tyler Childers’ band, The Food Stamps, performing at world-famous venues like the Grand Ole Opry and Madison Square Garden.

The band is about to embark on a European tour to promote its latest album, “Rustin’ in the Rain,” released in September 2023. Their previous album, “Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven,” won Album of the Year at the 2023 Americana Music Awards. They are also nominated for five Grammy Awards in 2024, including Best Country Solo Performance, Best Country Song, Best Country Album, Best Americana Performance and Best Music Video.

Jesse comes from a long line of musicians; both of his parents, Jamie (Class of 1974, 1983) and Catherine Wells , are musicians, as are his sisters, Miranda and Carrie (Wells) Carter, his uncles, David and Robbie Wells, his aunt Beth Runyon and his maternal grandmother, Jane Alexander Smart. Jamie said Jesse first took an interest in music around the age of five when he started playing mandolin, and he took an interest in guitar in middle school.

“I didn’t really teach Jesse much, to be honest with you. He was almost self-taught,” Jamie said. “But he was always going to gigs with me and used to do the sound system sometimes and sometimes played with us. He grew up immersed in it. We never had to tell him to practice, and he never had formal lessons.”

The Wells family not only has a deep tradition of musicianship, it has deep roots at MSU. His parents, his wife Amanda Lynn (Layne) Wells (Class of 1999, 2005), his paternal grandmother, the late Betty Jean Wells (Class of 1960), and his maternal grandmother are all MSU alumni. David and Robbie Wells are alumni of the Breckinridge Training School.

Jamie earned a degree in English and taught at Johnson Central High School for 25 years. As a musician, he taught fiddle at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg and has taught “History of Country Music” at KCTM. He and Jesse were music teachers at the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School in Whitesburg. Jamie said he’s grateful for the skills he learned at MSU that allowed him to be a teacher.

“Morehead (State) gave me that opportunity,” Jamie said. “I loved it, I loved every minute of it. I had great teachers.”

Jesse has been a fixture on campus since his time as a student. He was the host of “Bluegrass Sunday,” which became the original incarnation of “Pickin’ Parlor” on Morehead State Public Radio (MSPR). During this time, Jesse said he would receive requests from Arthur Hancock, who would later become his bandmate in The Wooks and who introduced him to Tyler Childers. Jesse was one of the early students at KCTM in 1999-2000 and taught at the center as an undergraduate student. At KCTM, under the mentorship of former faculty member Andy Carlson, he took an interest in the fiddle and dived deeper into traditional mountain music.

Jesse first played with Childers in 2013 on the Lexington-based “Red Barn Radio” podcast and said the two had an instant connection.

Jesse officially joined Childers’ band shortly after the release of Childers’ second album, “Purgatory” in 2017. He has been a band member ever since, balancing his duties as a performer with his responsibilities at KCTM. While on the road, Jesse teaches and gives lessons online. At first, he said he was a bit daunted by the idea, but another MSU alum, J.T. Cure (Class of 2003), became his example. Cure is Chris

Stapleton’s band’s bass player and works as an accountant at Vanderbilt University’s hospital.

“Staying in touch with students is the most important part,” Jesse said. “Just seeing him juggle being able to play professionally and touring on a very large-scale kind of became my inspiration that hey, maybe I can do that too.”

Jesse agrees with his father, saying his time as a student and then as an employee has impacted his entire life trajectory. He met his wife at MSU during a recital.

“It’s definitely shaped everything I do,” he said. “It’s a real treat to be able to share all of these experiences and to see our students be able to do similar things to what I’ve been fortunate enough to do. Seeing students get record contracts now and performing around the world and seeing them share how important the music of our region is, and the people and the experiences we all get to have. That’s the most important work we can all do and being able to share all that with our students, it’s a real blessing to be able to do that.”

Wells said he’s grateful that MSU has allowed him the flexibility to pursue his dream and added that the University understands what a professional touring musician can give back to students. After the last notes fade, a different conversation begins, and he shares the story of MSU with people all over the world.

“Tyler always introduces me as ‘the professor,’ and people tend to come up after the show and ask, ‘Are you really a professor?’ And I say yes, I teach at Morehead State at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music. And that opens the dialogue everywhere we go, and people are fascinated with the work that’s being done here at Morehead State, the cultural work that’s been neglected for many decades. Being able to shine a positive light on this region is very important right now.”