Don Ross was born and raised in Montreal to a Mi’kmaw Indigenous mother and a Scottish immigrant father. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music) degree from Toronto’s York University and started working full-time as a musician in 1988. That year he won the US National Fingerpick Guitar Championship for the first time. Don went on to sign with Sony Music/Columbia Records (Canada) in 1994, releasing three CDs for the label. Meanwhile, Don won the US National Fingerpick Guitar Championship for the second time in 1996. To this day, he is still the competition’s only two-time winner. Signing directly with Narada in 1998, Don went on to release three CDs for the label. Passion Session, released in 1999, Huron Street in 2001, and in 2003 Don’s last recording for Narada, Robot Monster. In 2005, Don became CandyRat Records first signed artist. Together they released Don’s next recording, Music for Vacuuming, late that year. Since then, Don has released multiple CDs for the label and two live concert DVDs. In addition, Don has released three other albums independently, Live in Your Head (2006), Any Colour (2009) and Don Ross Louder Than Usual (2019). In 2021, Don won the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Don currently lives in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.