Purchase or download the newest release "Walk When You Wanna Run" on Bandcamp
Walk When
You Wanna Run
"Best of 2022"
"Best of 2023"
Roots Music
Report
Walk When
You Wanna Run
138+ weeks charting on Canada Roots & Blues Top 50
“The Blues Can loves Shorty ... he is welcome to play here absolutely anytime, any day, with anyone. The vibe is always terrific, and the dance floor is pumping”
-Greg Smith, Owner, The Blues Can
BIO
Ethan Askey is creating original rock, rhythm and blues music in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, and reaching audiences around the world. An emerging singer-songwriter on the international scene, he has served a long apprenticeship as studio session player and sideman to all sorts of projects but only recently has launched his exciting new project, Ethan Askey & the Elevators.
Known also by the nickname of “Shorty” in his musical circles, Ethan is not short in stature and he is not from the American south, despite being a blues harmonica player of some renown. He is more familiar with the MacKenzie River delta in the Canadian Arctic than with the Mississippi delta. He was practically born with a canoe paddle in one hand, and a harmonica in the other. And no matter whether he’s camped along a northern river or in the depths of the Grand Canyon, or having a hang in the salsa Caribbean or bohemian Czech Republic, he’s rarely without his chosen instruments. He makes music in unlikely places with friends old and new.
An explorer of places wonderful and wild, Ethan recently pulled together some of Canada's top musicians and friends to raise the roof with him in giving voice to songs in the key of his life.
Walk When You Wanna Run is the title of his debut solo album release, a collection of songs that one might categorize as modern blues. The title track recounts a visit he made to the south side Chicago home of Junior Wells (“godfather of blues”, bandmate of Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters), years after making his acquaintance at Calgary’s infamous King Eddy. Singing of stray bullets, fish delivery and bear country, he shares a pivotal experience in his personal journey as a musician and offers a fresh take on the funky urban electric blues that Junior Wells was known for. The album has had sustained play on public and commercial radio around the world, earning a place in the radio play charts for blues, contemporary blues, and alt-country music.
Ethan Askey & the Elevators are playing shows and creating more new music, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, Ethan has been active in western Canada and in Europe as band member of Jimmy & the Sleepers, playing major festivals and backing touring artists such as John Primer (Muddy Waters) and Lil Jimmy Reed. Having had the opportunity to share the stage with these incredible blues musicians, and before them with British bluesman John Mayall and string-bending legend Amos Garrett, Ethan has a strong foundation in real deal blues. But as a singer, musician and song-writer you'd be mistaken to pigeon-hole him in any one genre; Ethan Askey is a creator of compelling, original stories and sounds that are expressed in many colourful ways.
“Shorty is a soul connector. His musical conviction and humble charm are the things that great music scenes are made of”
-Scotty Hills, Musician and Producer
Ethan Askey & the Elevators
“Soulful grooves and dirty blues that really get under your skin... one of those albums that, once you lend an ear, really get under your skin” 5/5
-John Kerieff, The Rock Doctor (Hot Wax album reviews)
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
• 2023 YYC Music Award nomination for "Blues Recording of the Year"
• "Best of 2022" Blues worldwide (Roots Music Report radio charts)
• "Best of 2023" Contemporary Blues worldwide (RMR)
•. #4 in Top 50 Canada Albums chart, January 20, 2024
• CJSW Radio Blues Witness program “Best of 2022” list
• CKUA Radio Friday Night Blues Party program “Best of 2022” list
• Radio Netherlands “CD of the Week” recognition (Bluespotting #988)
• Calgary Blues Music Association “Harmonica Player of the Year” 2014
MUSIC
Newest release, the single "Clarksdale", is available December 6, 2024, for digital download and on streaming platforms. The album Walk When You Wanna Run (2022) can be found on all streaming platforms and is available to purchase as CD or digital download at Bandcamp (click the "SHOP" button). You’re invited to join the Bandcamp community if you haven’t already, where you can send your support directly to the artist and discover other music too.
With steady international radio play on public, commercial and syndicated programs, the album earned a place on the Roots Music Report "Best of 2022" and also "Best of 2023" contemporary blues charts worldwide. It's been in the "Top 50 Canada Albums" weekly charts for 30 months.
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Purchase or Download the Newest Release
"Walk When You Wanna Run" on Bandcamp.
Walk When You Wanna Run was mixed and co-produced by Maple Blues Award and JUNO Award winning roots and blues artist Steve Marriner. Joining Marriner (of Colin James Band, MonkeyJunk) on bass, guitar, and keys is a diversity of standout Canadian players: Doug Boland (MOJO, Von Zippers), Jimmy Bowskill (The Sheepdogs, Blue Rodeo), Brad Carter (Blues Devils, Sonny Rhodes), Mike Clark, Corbett Frasz, Robbin Harris, Scotty Hills, Sammy Jean, Darren Johnson, Ian McKeown, Steve O’Connor, Steve Pineo, Yolanda Sargeant (Sargeant x Comrade), Luis Tovar, and Aaron Young (Mocking Shadows).
UPCOMING SHOWS
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
• Waynestock Music Fest, Alberta with "Ethan Askey & the Elevators" August 2024
• Baltic Blues Festival, Eutin, Germany headlining with "Jimmy & the Sleepers" May 2024
• Cha Bah, Kandern, Germany with "Jimmy & the Sleepers" May 2024
• Music Star, Norderstadt, Germany with "Jimmy & the Sleepers" May 2024
• Torburg, Cologne, Germany with "Jimmy & the Sleepers" May 2024
• Club 23, Kulturhaus Brauerei, Berlin, Germany with "Jimmy & the Sleepers" May 2024
• Blues Festival Baden, Zürich, Switzerland with "Jimmy & the Sleepers" /Robert Cray shared bill May 2024
• Hornby Island Blues Camp - performances and workshop instruction, April 2024
• Yardbird Suite, Edmonton with "Jimmy & the Sleepers" March 2024
• Saskatoon Blues Festival, backing John Primer (Muddy Waters) with "Jimmy & the Sleepers" February 2024
• Key City Theatre, Cranbrook Winter Ale Concert Series headliner "Ethan Askey & the Elevators," January 2024
• Hamburg Blues Nights Festival, Hamburg, Germany with “Jimmy & the Sleepers” November 2023
• Lagerhalle, Osnabrück, Germany with “Jimmy & the Sleepers” November 2023
• The Savoy Theatre, Bordesholm, Germany with “Jimmy & the Sleepers” November 2023
• The Ironwood Stage, Calgary with “Lil' Jimmy Reed w Jimmy & the Sleepers” October 2023
• Edmonton Blues Festival with “Jimmy & the Sleepers” August 2023
• Kootenay Blues Society feature “Ethan Askey & the Elevators” (Nelson and Balfour, BC) April 2023
• Regina Blues Festival with “Jimmy & the Sleepers” March 2023
• Cranbrook Hotel debut of “Ethan Askey & the Elevators” February 2023
• BB Kings on Beale Street, Memphis TN with “Debra Power” Galaxie Agency Showcase, January 2023
• Blueszha Paloozha festival, “Ethan Askey” feature, September 2022, Calgary, Alberta
• Summer Sounds concert series headliner "Ethan Askey" August 2022 Cranbrook, British Columbia
• Saskatoon Blues Festival with “Jimmy & the Sleepers” March 2022
... and 100’s of other unique performances in Canada, USA, Europe.
SESSION SIDEMAN
Ethan "Shorty" Askey has a passion for serving the song as a soloist and sideman for both live performance and studio recording sessions. He has big ears. As a versatile musician and singer he has made cool music with countless others, in all styles. And he’s game for more.
Maybe you’re making a record or pulling together a tour? He’d like to hear from you. Click below for a sampling of some session work with his signature tone, textures and rhythms.
CONTACT
Award-winning musician, singer and songwriter Ethan Askey is an in-demand frontman, sideman and session player.
He has collaborated live on international stages and in the recording studio with many notable artists and producers,
and he's the bandleader of up and coming Western Canada act Ethan Askey & the Elevators.
Click Here for an EPK
Electronic Press Kit