Joel Astley's Life in the Arts
September 18, 2024 - by Soumya Sahay
Art has been a part of Joel Astley’s whole life; a poet since childhood, a visual artist in his adulthood, and now a musician, Astley has creativity rushing through his blood. As one of the Bellevue Downtown Association's headliners for the upcoming Jazz & Blues festival in October, he is looking forward to sharing some of his original work with the Bellevue community.
Don’t miss your chance to see Joel Astley Band featuring Johnny Burgin at this year’s Bellevue Jazz & Blues Music Series. The group will perform live on October 4th at Meydenbauer Center Theatre as one of the featured artists in this 5-day music series.
His fans know him as a multi-talented musician with incredible vocal talent and beautiful harmonica skills, but few know that Joel Astley actually began his music career just a decade ago.
“In my thirties, early thirties, I started getting interested in music, and sitting in with bands, taking lessons, and really digging into the mechanics of music,” Astley says. “I always wrote poetry -- back in my youth I was always writing. I was actually surprised to know that I could write a song.”
Witty and unique songwriting is a skill of Astley’s. It can be difficult to maintain originality with the amount of amazing music available, yet Astley has found ways to combine his creativity with the events of his life -- and the influence of those around him.
“What works for me and what keeps me really happy and engaged as a person is to really address the human condition in the sense that we all have that -- we all get dark and bluesy,” Astley said. “We all have that shadow, and my solution is to zero in on that camaraderie. We all get it.”
His audience may look forward to his incredible lyrics, but Astley looks forward to them.
“What do I look forward to?” Astley said. “Just stepping up on the band stand and making a connection with the room.”
Looking for more? From October 2-6, the Bellevue Jazz & Blues Music Series will showcase 20+ live performances at different venues across Downtown Bellevue. See our 2024 all-star lineup of musicians and discover your next favorite artist!
This blog is part of the Heart of Bellevue: our campaign to showcase local businesses while connecting you with stories of activity, creativity and recovery. Find out about our campaign and explore more of what’s happening around Downtown.
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