Joe Hassell is a skilled, independent artist with a deep-seated conviction and energy in his writing. His performances use complex guitar instrumentals with vocals. A risk-taker, he enjoys using an eclectic blend of styles that defy labeling.

Perhaps Joe’s work is best summed up by comments heard from his rapidly growing fan-base: "While Joe's lyrics are thought provoking, his performance is really entertaining"; and “A lot of people play guitar, but Joe is a musician”.

Joseph Hassell was born in a Detroit, Michigan suburb. By age 6 he plucked out melodies on his father’s old classical guitar and soon after began formal lessons.

At 15 he joined his church’s folk group where he was encouraged to explore his own creativity and find the ‘heart’ in his musical style. Joe’s musical influences include the smart and intellectual genre of John Mayer and the musicianship of Rush, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Journey, Michael Hedges, Van Halen, and Joe Satriani.

In the years following, Joe’s skills grew as he played with various bands. During this period he started writing and performing his own music in a variety of venues. In 2003, he went solo and began experimenting with different approaches while sharpening his acoustic and vocal skills.

Encouraged by strong, positive feedback from performances at local Metro Detroit clubs (110+ shows/year), Joe recorded his first songs, “Falling” and “Stand Back”. The songs gained airtime in Metro Detroit and became a hit with listeners. The popularity of his songs grew as did the demand for more songs. This led Joe to record his first CD, Falling. His second CD, which will be for sale, is coming out 2007.