Joel Astley

Since forming his first band in 2014, Joel Astley quickly established himself as a world-class bandleader, harmonica player, singer, songwriter, and entertainer. In the past year he has been on a meteoric rise on the international Blues Music scene, joining Lee Oskar Harmonicas as a featured artist in 2023 and signing with Blue Heart Records to release his first album, Seattle to Greaseland. The album debuted August 18, 2023 at Number 7 on the Blues Billboard Top Ten, and met critical acclaim worldwide. He has since received the Silver Medal Award from the Global Music Awards, Honorable Mention in the 2024 International Songwriting Competition for his song Secondhand Kid, and currently nominated for four 2024 Josie Awards, two 2024 Independent Blues Awards, and two 2024 Blues Blast Music Awards. 

He has a strong Pacific Northwest following, and has collected 23 Washington Blues Society's "Best of the Blues" Awards in just seven years. Besides festival appearances and tours dates, he still plays local venues year round and does session recording work; he has appeared on multiple recordings, and is currently working on songs for his next album. 

An interesting side note: Joel Astley came to music after many years working in the visual arts. He is still an active visual artist; his paintings, prints and drawings are in many private collections, and he has designed many album covers including Quique Gomez and Little Charlie's recent release, Cookin at Greaseland.