Ethan Askey is creating original roots, rock, and blues music in Canada's Rocky Mountains, and reaching audiences around the world. Having served a long apprenticeship as studio session player and sideman he 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. 

Since 1994 Ethan has played throughout western Canada; in Memphis and Chicago; and at festivals, theatres and clubs across Europe from the Alps to the Baltic Sea. With a wide diversity of independent artists he's collaborated in live performance and studio sessions. He has also been opener, guest, or supporting band member to some of the blues greats: John Mayall (Bluesbreakers), John Primer (Muddy Waters), Amos Garrett (Paul Butterfield's Better Days), Lil' Jimmy Reed, Tim Williams and Robert Cray. Ethan is in fine company with some of Canada's best as a repeat instructor and performer at the renowned Hornby Island Blues Camp & festival.

Walk When You Wanna Run is the title of his 2022 solo debut release. The title track recounts a visit he made to the south side Chicago home of Junior Wells - bandmate of Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters - years after making his acquaintance at Calgary’s King Eddy Hotel. Singing of stray bullets, fish delivery and bear country, he shares a pivotal experience in his 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 steady Top 50 radio play chart positions and "best of year" recognition (Roots Music Report). 

Ethan Askey & the Elevators are now touring the second album under his name, Outside the Lines, released in June 2026. The fresh lyric material continues in Askey's style of drawing from his rich experiences and relationships to infuse original music with authenticity and meaning. The result of their music-making is a genre-defying sweep of sound encompassing roots and blues and beyond. With co-writer Keith Larsen on guitar and vocals, Ben Dunn on drums and vocals, and Mike Honeyman on bass, together these "purveyors of fine Rocky Mountain roots and boogie blues" deliver electrifying live performances to move audiences in body and soul. They've lived a little, and they will draw you into tasty tales of faraway places, love gone wrong, and whistling past the graveyard. They're described in Cashbox Canada Magazine as "Modern storytellers with an authentic voice and some vintage voltage".