JOEL ASTLEY
Since forming his first band in 2014, Joel Astley has established himself as a gifted frontman, harmonica player, singer and songwriter, and leads an award winning four-piece band. They tour regularly and performs locally and all of them appear on numerous recording. He and this all star lineup have amassed dozens of awards, nominations and other accolades, most recently sweeping the 2025 Washington Blues Society Awards.
Astley made a splash on the International Blues Music scene with his 2023 debut album, Seattle To Greaseland, which came in at Number 7 on the Blues Billboard Top Ten and received critical acclaim worldwide, and has helped to set Astley on a meteoric rise. He has been a Featured Artist with Lee Oskar Harmonicas since 2023, and is currently working on songs for his next album.
Joel Astley has been recognized with 26 “Best of the Blues” awards from the Washington Blues Society over the last 7 years, and he received the Silver Medal Award from the Global Music Awards in 2023, an Honorable Mention in the 2024 International Songwriting Competition for “Secondhand Kid”, and multiple nominations from Music organizations including the Blues Blast Music Awards, the Independent Blues Awards, the Cascade Blues Society, and the Josie Awards.
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 art has appeared on album covers and festival tee shirts, and his paintings, prints and drawings are in many private collections.
