Just Announced category interest

Hailing from humble beginnings in Quincy, MA, singer-songwriter and guitarist JESSE AHERN seamlessly blends Americana, folk, roots and rock armed with a Gretsch guitar across his body, an anchor tattoo under his right eye, and tunes that hold high the clenched fists of the working class. Having toured the world alongside acts including Dropkick Murphys, Rancid, Chuck Ragan, Frank Turner and Jaime Wyatt, JESSE appears onstage standing solo in front of a giant backdrop emblazoned with the words ‘ROOTS ROCK REBEL.’ True to his nature, JESSE has announced his upcoming album will be fittingly titled ROOTS ROCK REBEL—a slogan that embodies both his music and himself. The album will mark JESSE’s debut release via Dropkick Murphys’ Dummy Luck Music / [PIAS] record label and is due September 15. Produced by Grammy Award-winner Ted Hutt (Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, The Gaslight Anthem), ROOTS ROCK REBEL consists of 10 tracks including the previously released lead single, “Pray.’ 

 

JESSE has today (July 27) shared a poignant music video for his second single, “Back Against The Wall,” an anti-corporation worker’s rights anthem, which fits timely with the current global labor strikes and unionization movements across several industries (Writers Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, hotel workers, Starbucks, Amazon, UPS, etc). No stranger to getting his hands dirty on the job and the struggles of everyday working-class people, rather than “speak for them,” JESSE speaks as “one of them” with “Back Against The Wall.” The video follows the single’s late June release and can be seen streaming below or via YouTube HERE.

 

“I’m a middle-class townie from Quincy, MA,” JESSE exclaims. “For most of my life, I’ve either played music or had to work with my hands. I’ve definitely seen the ups and downs of the economy and the middle class fade away. I don’t define myself as a working-class musician, I define myself as someone who has empathy for anybody who’s working hard. When I was in my early twenties, you could have a job, a car, cover your place, and still go out on the weekend. If you weren’t a drunk or a drug addict, you’d even have a little money in your pocket. That’s not the way it goes anymore. Now there are people with two or three jobs who can’t pay their rent. To me, that’s a problem. You can’t solve it overnight, but you can sing about it.”

 

“‘Back Against The Wall’ hits home with me,” JESSE continues. “I have three kids, and all I ever think is, ‘Where the hell are they going to go? How are they going to ever buy a house or afford rent?’ It’s f*cking wild out there. This isn’t about a party or where you are on the political spectrum. I, myself, am very sick of it. I’m very glad to see people are starting to wake up though... but sometimes I wonder if it’s too late.”

 

JESSE will support ROOTS ROCK REBEL on the road joining longtime tourmates Dropkick Murphys on their fall U.S. tour alongside The Interrupters from September 27 to October 29. Find dates and tickets at https://dropkickmurphys.com/tour/.

 

“Back Against The Wall” Lyrics:

With your back against the wall, will you fight or will you fall?

Whoa

With nothing left to lose, will you run or light the fuse?

Whoa

 

The ones who have the money will always have the money

And the workers make it all go ‘round

You can always be replaced, or at least be displaced

When they gentrify your town

 

Fat cat Bureaucrats are setting the workers back

Doing nothing but filling their pockets

Shaking hands and kissing babies, no promises just maybes

While people give up what others died for

 

With your back against the wall, will you fight or will you fall?

Whoa

With nothing left to lose, will you run or light the fuse?

Whoa

 

Hey, Boomer you have it made, you took everything they gave

Your benefits and Medicaid

We should take it all away, make you work for less than minimum wage

For fucking it up for all the rest of us

 

Hey - c’mon

 

I’m a democrat, I’m no republican, I’m no libertarian, I’m no fool

I can’t take the ideology of grifters who bend all the rules

 

There’s no pie in the sky, the fight in me won’t die

If I make it out of here I’ll be surprised

So organize and fight, stand your ground and know your rights

It’s time for us to rise

 

With your back against the wall, will you fight or will you fall?

Whoa

With nothing left to lose, will you run or light the fuse?

Whoa

 

Hey boomer you have it made, you took everything they gave

Your benefits and Medicaid

We should take it all away, make you work for less than minimum wage

For fucking it up for all the rest of us

 

For fucking it up for all the rest of us