“Always provide[s] a thoughtful reading…songs always heartfelt and well-constructed.” –Seattle Weekly
“A jewel of the Emerald City’s musical crown” –Wildy’s World
“Folk meets rockabilly meets lonesome cowboy waltzes” –Performing Songwriter Magazine
For the past twenty years, Wes Weddell has worked multiple shifts in the engine room of Seattle’s roots music scene. A diligent tortoise in a sea of oft-distracted hares, the veteran performer keeps his hands in abundant projects as frontman, sideman, writer, teacher, and community-builder.
“Always heartfelt and well-constructed” (Seattle Weekly), listeners have come to expect Weddell’s songs to “speak for themselves” (No Depression). Yet performed live—solo or with his band behind him—the melodic stories deepen further against the backdrop of the multi-instrumentalist’s relatable presence and quick wit.
And whose stories are these? Fans and peers everywhere find easy points of connection in the music, but the residents of Weddell’s native Northwest are on particular display in these narratives. In 2001 Weddell received the inaugural Mary Gates Venture Fellowship from the University of Washington to travel the region gathering local lore and turning it into song (My Northwest Home). Celebrated for its thoughtful and accessible approach, the effort earned a “Modern-Day Woody Guthrie” comparison from the Seattle Times and set Weddell on a mission to give voice to his neighbors that continues today.
Settling into a career with global awareness but dedicated local focus, many more stages, albums, collaborations, and honors have followed. Weddell founded community-music non-profit Puget’s Sound Productions in 2003, while also putting considerable time and energy toward the efforts of other organizations celebrating working musicians. A 13-year association with beloved folksinging duo Reilly & Maloney ensued. Songs to Get You From Here to There (2006) saw the formation of the Wes Weddell Band. By the Side of the Lake (2010) found some traction in the Folk and Americana radio landscape. The sideman portfolio grew on multiple instruments, as did the scope of lesson and workshop offerings. Through it all those regional roots sink deeper, continuing to spread.
In 2010, Weddell began working with The Bushwick Book Club Seattle, an expanding collective of songwriters who each compose new music inspired by literature to share in monthly showcases focused around specific books. Songs from this catalog appear on his latest release, Somewhere in the Middle (2019), and comprise the entirety of the full-band showpiece Nobody’s Flag (2015).
A native of Pullman, WA, Weddell has held a full-time Seattle Mariners media credential and participated in a major university study of mountain huckleberry harvesters.
- Inaugural Mary Gates Venture Fellow at University of Washington, 2001
- Winner, 2006 Tumbleweed Music Festival Songwriting Contest: “Carry On”
- Songs to Get You From Here to There Top-12 DIY pick from Performing Songwriter Magazine, June 2007
- Jack Straw Artist Support Grant, 2013
- Willapa Bay Artist in Residence, 2014
- Peninsula Acoustic Music Foundation Artist in Residence, 2018
- President/Founder, Puget’s Sound Productions (est. 2003)
- Board of Directors, Bushwick Northwest (Quiz Master, too!)
- Board of Directors, FAR-West, 2015-2018
- Singer/Songwriter Community Coordinator, Northwest Folklife Festival
