Jon Watts: Bringing Quakerism to music and media

Jon Watts is a contemporary Quaker musician and media creator whose music, video work and podcasting translate Quaker spirituality for a digital generation while remaining rooted in the radical witness of early Friends.

A multi-media Quaker voice

Across the centuries, Quaker ministry has taken many forms. Early Friends travelled the roads of England preaching, writing pamphlets and challenging the religious authorities of their day. Later generations built schools, peace organisations and campaigns for social justice.

In the twenty-first century, Quaker witness increasingly appears in new places: podcasts, video channels and music streaming platforms. Among those exploring this new terrain is the American Quaker musician and media creator Jon Watts.

Through music, film and digital storytelling, Watts seeks to interpret Quaker spirituality for a modern audience. His work blends artistic creativity with theological reflection, drawing on the history of early Friends while addressing contemporary spiritual questions.

Rather than replacing traditional Quaker practice, his work translates it. Silence, testimony and inward searching become themes explored through rhythm, voice and story.

Quaker roots and spiritual journey

Jon Watts grew up within the Quaker tradition in the United States, but his deeper engagement with the faith developed during his studies at Guilford College in North Carolina. As part of the Quaker Leadership Scholars Program, he began exploring the writings and history of early Friends.

The experience proved transformative. Encountering the radical spiritual vision of the seventeenth-century Quaker movement reshaped his understanding of the tradition he had inherited.

“Learning the stories of early Friends made me realise that Quakerism wasn’t just a tradition I inherited — it was a faith I could choose.”

Studying figures such as George Fox and Margaret Fell revealed a movement that was bold, experimental and spiritually demanding. The discovery helped move Watts from what he described as being a “cultural Quaker” toward a more conscious and committed engagement with the faith.

After college he spent time at Pendle Hill, the Quaker study centre in Pennsylvania that has long served as a place of reflection and spiritual formation for Friends.

Music as ministry

From this period of exploration grew Watts’ first major creative work: a collection of songs reflecting on the lives and witness of early Friends. What began as a university project soon developed into a wider musical ministry.

Watts’ music blends elements of folk, spoken word and rhythmic storytelling. Rather than treating music simply as performance, he approaches it as a form of spiritual reflection — a way of exploring the questions that have animated Quaker faith for nearly four centuries.

In this sense, his work echoes an older Quaker concern with inward transformation. The seventeenth-century Friend Isaac Penington urged seekers to:

“Give over thine own willing. Give over thine own running. Give over thine own desiring to know or be anything, and sink down to the seed which God sows in the heart.”

Watts’ songs often explore similar themes: surrender, honesty and the struggle to live authentically.

He has described his work as an attempt to give voice to experiences that are often expressed in silence within Quaker worship.

“Quakerism is often associated with silence, but silence is full of stories. My work is just another way of letting those stories be heard.”

In this way, music becomes another form of testimony — not replacing silent worship but extending its themes into a different medium.

Clothe Yourself in Righteousness

One of Watts’ most recognised musical projects is the album Clothe Yourself in Righteousness, released in 2011.

The album draws inspiration from early Quaker writings and explores themes of spiritual authenticity, prophetic witness and inward transformation. Through a mixture of poetry, rhythm and acoustic sound, the songs revisit the radical vision of the first generation of Friends.

QuakerSpeak and digital storytelling

Watts’ work extends beyond music. He is also the creator of QuakerSpeak, a widely viewed video project introducing Quaker beliefs and practices to a global audience.

Through short documentary-style interviews, QuakerSpeak invites Friends to explain their faith in their own words. Topics range from silent worship and the Inner Light to activism, community life and spiritual doubt.

The project has helped introduce thousands of viewers to Quaker ideas who might never otherwise encounter them.

In this sense, QuakerSpeak continues a tradition established by early Friends themselves. The first generation of Quakers used pamphlets and printed tracts to spread their message across England and beyond. Today, digital media provides a new platform for the same impulse: sharing spiritual experience openly.

Thee Quaker Podcast

Watts has also expanded his work into audio storytelling through Thee Quaker Podcast.

The podcast explores Quaker history, spiritual practice and contemporary witness through interviews and reflective conversation. Episodes examine both historical figures and present-day questions facing the Quaker community.

The format emphasises listening — a discipline deeply embedded in Quaker worship. Conversations unfold patiently, inviting reflection rather than debate.

In many ways, the podcast mirrors the spirit of the meeting house: a space where voices are heard in turn and stories are shared with care.

A new kind of Quaker ministry

Throughout their history, Friends have adapted their methods while remaining rooted in the same spiritual principles.

17th century Quakers travelled on horseback to preach their message. Later generations printed books, organised relief work and built peace organisations.

Today, new forms of communication are reshaping how faith is shared.

Jon Watts represents one example of how Quaker witness continues to evolve. Through music, video and podcasting, he explores how the insights of early Friends might speak to a digital generation.

The tools have changed. The questions have not.

Across four centuries, Quaker faith has returned again and again to the same invitation — listen inwardly, speak truthfully and live with integrity.

Watts’ work suggests that even in an age of algorithms and streaming platforms, those ancient questions still find new voices.