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On Friday, January 21, 2022, world-renowned guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Tinsley Ellis will release his new Alligator album, the propulsive, soul-searching, raw and cathartic Devil May Care. The album, Ellis' 20th, will be available on CD and on red vinyl LP, as well as on all major streaming and download services. That same day, Ellis will kick off his coast-to-coast North American tour from his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.

Devil May Care features ten of Ellis’ most dynamic original compositions, mixing muscular rock ‘n’ roll and hard blues into his own instantly recognizable sound.  The emotionally-charged guitar solos soar in full service to the songs, as if Ellis is living and breathing the sound rather than simply playing the notes. “The goal,” says Ellis, “was to make the guitar sing.”

Relix says Ellis' music contains "powerful spine-tingling guitar and gritty, soulful vocals …an inspired and passionate fusion of blues and Southern rock." Guitar World declares, "Ellis’ playing sparkles with depth and subtlety. Whether playing deep, slow blues or uptempo rockers, Ellis rides a gorgeously fat, pure tone."

While the worldwide pandemic and subsequent shutdown profoundly affected every musician (and every person), Ellis used his time off the road to write over 200 new songs. In March 2020, Ellis was forced to cancel the tour promoting his previous release, Ice Cream In Hell, only six weeks into the 60-date run. He almost immediately began composing on amps and guitars that he hadn’t used for decades. He explored obscure studio and live recordings from some of his greatest musical heroes, such as the Allman Brothers, Freddie King, Michael Bloomfield, B.B. King and beyond, and was inspired by his favorite artists all over again. Somehow, in the most unlikely of times, Tinsley Ellis committed to growing his already formidable talent.

As early as April 2020, he began regularly releasing his new material online, keeping his fans engaged and soaking up their comments and responses. He knew, thanks to the reactions of his fans to his new songs, that he needed to make a record and get back on the road as soon as possible. Ellis whittled the 200-song list down to ten, enlisted his friend and co-producer, keyboard master Kevin McKendree, and headed for Franklin, Tennessee’s famous Rock House recording studio. The result is Devil May Care, a record Ellis says, "is for the fans as much as for me.”

Tinsley Ellis has been immersed in music his whole life. Born in Atlanta 1957 and raised in southern Florida, he acquired his first guitar at age seven, inspired by seeing The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. He took to guitar instantly, developing and sharpening his skills as he grew up. Like many kids his age, Ellis discovered the blues through the back door of British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream and The Rolling Stones as well as Southern rockers like the Allman Brothers. One night in 1972, he and a friend were listening to Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfield’s Super Session record when his friend’s older brother told them that, if they liked Super Session, they should go see B.B. King, who was in town that week. Tinsley saw that show from the very front row. As fate would have it, King broke a guitar string while playing, and after changing it without missing a beat, he handed the broken string to young Tinsley. And yes, he still has that string.

Today, Ellis is among the world’s most celebrated blues-rock performers, and one of the genre’s most original and prolific songwriters. Blues Music Magazine says he plays “perfect, and perfectly Southern, blues-rock.” Vintage Guitar says, “He delivers blistering blues-rock, soul romps, minor-key blues and shuffles—and it all sounds great.” Ellis has toured the world non-stop for 35 years. He has captivated and amazed fans in all 50 United States, as well as in Canada, all across Europe, Australia and South America. He’s earned a massive, fervent fan base that can never seem to get enough of Ellis and his music. Fueled by his blazing, every-note-matters guitar work and his gruff, spirited vocals, Ellis delivers one imaginative and memorable song after another. Now, with Devil May Care and a new tour booked, Ellis is more than ready to make up for lost time.

According to Allmusic.com, “Ellis’ playing underscores the emotional depth in the lyrics. His meaty solos dig deep.” With Devil May Care, Ellis proves that true again, with ten jaw-dropping, career-topping performances. As he continues adding more dates to his already packed tour schedule, Ellis will bring his high-energy Southern blues-rock to fans all across the country. "It’s been a long 18 months,” he says, “and now folks are ready to have some fun.”

"This singer-songwriter continues to leap forward…intent on both working in the blues idiom and expanding on it. His vocals are as tough as these funky, surprising sounds demand. The 13 original songs are constructed for drama….stories and sounds combine to haunt beyond their specific references, as the best blues songs will."
—The Wall Street Journal

"Selwyn Birchwood reaches back in the blues tradition to launch something out of this world."
—No Depression


Groundbreaking young blues visionary Selwyn Birchwood today announced the premiere of his attention-grabbing new video for his original song, Searching For My Tribe. The passionate, thought-provoking track appears on Birchwood's recently released third Alligator album, Living In A Burning House. Living Blues declared, "With Living in a Burning House, the guitarist may have made his most fully realized artistic statement to date."

According to Birchwood, Searching For My Tribe is about his personal journey for self-actualization. "I had always been a loner from a very young age. At 19 years old, I discovered an entire world of blues music that felt like 'home'. I knew then where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. Just when I thought I had found my place in the sun, it appears as though all of the people and sounds that brought me in have been replaced with other trends. This music video allows me to tell that story, visually, from a different perspective as it  showcases the state of the 'art' in the environment we see today."

Since the 2014 release of his Alligator Records debut, Don’t Call No Ambulance, Birchwood’s meteoric rise from playing small Florida clubs to headlining international festival stages is nothing short of phenomenal. The album received the Blues Music Award and Living Blues Critics’ Award for Best Debut Album Of 2014, and he won the 2015 Blues Blast Rising Star Award. Rave reviews ran in publications from Rolling Stone to The Wall Street Journal, from The Chicago Tribune to The San Francisco Chronicle.He followed in 2016 with Pick Your Poison. DownBeat said, “There’s a deep-seated power about Birchwood’s singing and six string/lap steel guitar work...and there’s an unmistakable emotion and honesty linking him to forebearers like Muddy Waters.”

“Carolyn Wonderland is a fiery blues rocker with incendiary guitar chops and raw, powerful vocals.”
–NPR Music 

“Mighty and joyous rock-injected blues...luxurious vocals and fine guitar work. Her voice is as muscular as her name is evocative.”
–Austin Chronicle

“Carolyn Wonderland is the real deal. She’s an amazing guitar player. And damn, can she sing.”
–Los Angeles Times 
 
“Hey, have you heard Carolyn Wonderland? She’s something else. She should be nationwide.”
–Bob Dylan, talking to Asleep At The Wheel's Ray Benson 

Award-winning Texas guitar slinger, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Wonderland has announce dates for her 2021 Tempting Fate Tour, with performances stretching from September 2021 through the end of the year. Wonderland will release her Alligator Records debut album, Tempting Fate, on Friday, October 8. The album, her 11th, was produced by famed master roots musician Dave Alvin, and features Wonderland's signature, blistering six-string and lap steel playing, her intense vocals and her original songs melding blues, rock and Americana.

Tempting Fate finds Wonderland delivering ten riveting songs, including five fiery originals and one co-write. Her vocals range from raw and fierce to subtle and gentle. Her guitar work, on both six-string and lap steel, is often explosive and always melodic. According to Dave Alvin, "Carolyn is unique, strong, soulful and sincere. She can pick and belt out the blues with the best of them, but her powerful, melodic vocals and six-string stylings are truly her own. Traditional yet innovative, tough yet tender, Carolyn always sounds like no one else but herself."

Wonderland has been performing professionally since the age of 15. Her music is a bold mix of timeless original songs and reinventions of some of her favorites, ranging from blistering electric blues to deep, heartfelt ballads to cosmic country to soulful Tex-Mex. Every song is fueled by Wonderland’s forceful yet melodic Texas-flavored guitar work and her full-throated, heart-on-her-sleeve vocals. She has been a road warrior for over 20 years, and has played all over the U.S. and in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, the Canary Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Japan. She just concluded a three-year stint as the lead guitarist in British blues master John Mayall’s iconic Blues Breakers. In addition to his legendary musical skills, Mayall is among the world's greatest blues-rock guitar talent scouts. He personally chose Carolyn for the role formerly filled by Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, and more six-string luminaries.

The Boston Herald describes Carolyn as “a dollop of Janis Joplin, a slice of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a big load of soulful individuality. That’s Wonderland, a seething-hot Texas singer-guitarist. And she can write, too.” Now, with Tempting Fate and a major tour in the works, Carolyn Wonderland is excited to get back out on the road and reconnect with her fans and friends. “We will play dang near anywhere that’ll have us,” she says. Of her chosen profession, the effervescent Wonderland told NPR Music’s Mountain Stage, “I wouldn’t recommend it for the faint of heart, but it sure is a good time.”

Concert attendees are strongly advised to contact the venue to confirm performance.

On Wednesday, August 25, Blues Blast Magazine announced the winners of the 14th Annual Blues Blast Awards. Four Alligator Records artists -- Shemekia Copeland, Curtis Salgado and the duo of Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite -- won a total of four awards, including three top album awards.

Voting for the awards was free and open to the public (one vote per person) at the Blues Blast website.

      

Celebrated blues, soul and Americana vocalist Shemekia Copeland received awards in both categories for which she was nominated: Female Blues Artist and Contemporary Blues Recording for her groundbreaking 2020 album, Uncivil War.

Legendary blues giants Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite won for Traditional Blues Recording for their timeless album, 100 Years Of Blues.

Soul, rock and blues vocalist Curtis Salgado received the award for Soul Blues Recording for his acclaimed 2021 release, Damage Control. 

“Carolyn Wonderland is a fiery blues rocker with incendiary guitar chops and raw, powerful vocals.”
—NPR Music 

“Mighty and joyous rock-injected blues...luxurious vocals and fine guitar work. Her voice is as muscular as her name is evocative.”
—Austin Chronicle

“Carolyn Wonderland is the real deal. She’s an amazing guitar player. And damn, can she sing.”
—Los Angeles Times 

“Hey, have you heard Carolyn Wonderland? She’s something else. She should be nationwide.”
—Bob Dylan, talking to Asleep At The Wheel's Ray Benson

Award-winning Texas guitar slinger, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Wonderland will release her Alligator Records debut album, Tempting Fate, on Friday, October 8. The album, produced by famed master roots musician Dave Alvin, is the next chapter in Wonderland’s remarkable career, one that is already overflowing with countless, colorful, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. She spent the last three years as lead guitarist in blues legend John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, and has now joined the Alligator Records family as the first female guitar hero in the label’s storied 50-year history. But that's not all. Her spine-chilling, soul-deep singing matches her guitar prowess note for note. And she has a knack for writing songs that sound like instant classics.

Wonderland has been performing professionally since the age of 15. Her music is a bold mix of timeless original songs and reinventions of some of her favorites, ranging from blistering electric blues to deep, heartfelt ballads to cosmic country to soulful Tex-Mex. Every song is fueled by Wonderland’s forceful yet melodic Texas-flavored guitar work and her full-throated, heart-on-her-sleeve vocals.

Tempting Fate is Wonderland's 11th album, and it finds her delivering ten riveting songs, including five fiery originals and one co-write. Her vocals range from raw and fierce to subtle and gentle. Her guitar work, on both six-string and lap steel, is often explosive and always melodic. According to Dave Alvin, "Carolyn is unique, strong, soulful and sincere. She can pick and belt out the blues with the best of them, but her powerful, melodic vocals and six-string stylings are truly her own. Traditional yet innovative, tough yet tender, Carolyn always sounds like no one else but herself."

On every song—from the searing, guitar-heavy Broken Hearted Blues to the tender and poignant Crack In The Wall to the very Texan love song for her boot collection, Texas Girl And Her Boots, to the politically-charged Fragile Peace And Certain War to the take-no-prisoners version of the Grateful Dead’s Loser—Wonderland throws herself completely into the music. Her shining duet with Texas singing/songwriting legend Jimmie Dale Gilmore on Bob Dylan’s It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry redefines the song. Her explosive guitar work and commanding vocals on John Mayall’s The Laws Must Change makes his song hers. 

In addition to her longtime road band—bassist Bobby Perkins and drummer Kevin Lance—who anchor every song, guests on Tempting Fate include Jimmie Dale Gilmore on vocals, Cindy Cashdollar on lap steel guitar, Marcia Ball on piano, Shelley King on background vocals, Jan Flemming on accordion and Red Young on organ and piano, with producer Dave Alvin playing guitar on three songs. “The joy was palpable, getting to play with my friends and heroes at Stuart Sullivan’s studio, and Stuart captured that joy in the recording. You can hear the smile on my face and tear in my eye on every track. And everyone sat up straight for Dave Alvin, who had great ideas as our producer.”

Wonderland has been a road warrior for over 20 years. She’s played all over the U.S. and in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Canary Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Japan. In 2018, venerated musician and bandleader John Mayall chose Wonderland to be lead guitarist in his band, The Blues Breakers. She became the first woman ever to hold that position. (The all-star list of Mayall’s legendary guitarists includes Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Coco Montoya and Walter Trout.) She toured the world with Mayall, once playing 50 shows in 60 days in 19 countries. She recently left the band to tour in celebration of her new Alligator album.

Carolyn Wonderland was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in a house full of music and instruments. She first started playing guitar at age six. After she scratched up her mother’s vintage Martin guitar by imitating Pete Townsend’s famous windmill move, she was forbidden from using a pick. Because of that, she developed her aggressive, distinctive finger-picking guitar attack. Her early influences include her mom, Houston guitar legends Albert Collins, Jerry Lightfoot, Little Screamin' Kenny and Joe “Guitar” Hughes, as well as blues and soul vocalist Lavelle White. Singing came naturally, as did learning to play just about every instrument she got her hands on. She plays trumpet, accordion, lap steel, piano, and mandolin.
 
With four albums already under her belt, Wonderland moved to Austin, Texas in 1999, where she quickly earned a large and loyal following, creating plenty of press buzz and radio attention. Then one day in 2003, legendary musician Ray Benson (of Asleep At The Wheel) was having lunch with his friend Bob Dylan, who had heard Wonderland’s music. Dylan asked Benson, “Hey, have you heard Carolyn Wonderland? She’s something else.” Dylan wanted to meet Wonderland, so Benson got her number from a mutual friend and called her in Houston, telling Wonderland to get to Austin immediately to meet with Dylan. She drove the 165 miles at record speed to spend some time with him. They’ve crossed paths since, sometimes jamming, sometimes just talking about music (“He’s a true musicologist,” she says of Bob). “Sometimes he’ll just call,” Wonderland says.“It's always a pleasant surprise to me when he does, so I’ll likely never change my number.”
 
Benson went on to produce Wonderland’s next four albums, all critically acclaimed fan favorites. According to Benson, “Carolyn’s got that unbelievable, incredible voice, one of the great voices of our times. She’s got the range, the emotion. She’s also an incredible guitar player and a great person. The combination is disarming and totally real. That’s magic.”
 
The Boston Herald describes Carolyn as “a dollop of Janis Joplin, a slice of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a big load of soulful individuality. That’s Wonderland, a seething-hot Texas singer-guitarist. And she can write, too.” Now, with Tempting Fate and a major tour in the works, Carolyn Wonderland is excited to get back out on the road and reconnect with her fans and friends. “We will play dang near anywhere that’ll have us,” she says. Of her chosen profession, the effervescent Wonderland told NPR Music’s Mountain Stage, “I wouldn’t recommend it for the faint of heart, but it sure is a good time.”

“Shemekia Copeland is the greatest blues singer of her generation.”
—The Washington Post

“Copeland provides a soundtrack for contemporary America...powerful, ferocious, clear-eyed and hopeful...She’s in such control of her voice that she can scream at injustices before she soothes with loving hope. It sends shivers up your spine.”
—Living Blues

“Uncivil War is one of the boldest and most persuasive recordings of Copeland’s already distinguished career. Copeland’s incendiary and positively buoyant vocals [are] one of the great instruments in contemporary blues. A triumph.”
—The Chicago Tribune




DownBeat magazine has named celebrated singer Shemekia Copeland as its Blues Artist Of The Year, and her groundbreaking 2020 release Uncivil War as the Blues Album Of The Year in the magazine's just-released 69th Annual Critics' Poll. According to Copeland, "I can’t begin to say how honored I am to be singled out by the critics at DownBeat. When it comes to covering the music I love, DownBeat’s always been the granddaddy. A granddaddy who’s hip, wise and never grows old."

The DownBeat honors add to the list of awards Copeland has recently won. She received three 2020 Blues Music Awards, including Entertainer Of The Year and Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year for Uncivil War. Additionally, she won both the recent Living Blues magazine's Critics' and Readers' Awards for Album Of The Year and Blues Artist Of The Year (Female). It's not just in the United States where she wins awards. Copeland received the UK Blues Award for International Blues Artist Of The Year. Prior to that, UK tastemaker music magazine MOJO named Uncivil War the #1 Blues Album of 2020.

Since the release of Uncivil War, Copeland's profile has continued to grow. She was the subject of a Washington Post Sunday magazine story and appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition. She most recently was a guest on NPR's Here And Now discussing her life and career. And NPR's Jazz Night In America has produced an hour-long program featuring interviews with Copeland and others, along with music recorded at Dizzy's Club in New York City and at the 2021 Exit Zero Jazz Festival.

Copeland began her recording career with Alligator Records in 1998 at the age of 18. Since then, the three-time Grammy nominee has grown to become one of the most passionate and candid artists on today’s roots music scene.

On Monday, July 5, Blues Blast Magazine announced the nominees for the 14th Annual Blues Blast Music Awards. This year, eight Alligator Records artists received eleven Blues Blast Award nominations.

Celebrated blues, soul and Americana vocalist Shemekia Copeland received two nominations: one for Female Blues Artist and one for Contemporary Blues Recording for her groundbreaking 2020 album, Uncivil War.

Florida blues visionary Selwyn Birchwood received two nominations: one for Male Blues Artist and one for Contemporary Blues Recording for his powerful January 2021 album, Living In A Burning House.

Soul, rock and blues vocalist Curtis Salgado received two nominations: one for Male Blues Artist and one for Soul Blues Recording for his acclaimed February 2021 release, Damage Control.

West Coast blues icon, guitarist Chris Cain, also received two nominations: one for Male Blues Artist and one for Contemporary Blues Recording for his April 2021 Alligator Records debut, Raisin' Cain.

Legendary blues giants Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite received a nomination for Traditional Blues Recording for their timeless duo album, 100 Years Of Blues.

Northern California blues masters Rick Estrin & The Nightcats and Chicago blues torchbearers The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling each received a nomination for Blues Band.

Voting for the awards will be open to the public (one vote per person) at the Blues Blast website beginning July 5. Voting will end at 12:00AM CST on Saturday, August 6, 2021. Winners of the14th Annual Blues Blast Awards will be announced shortly thereafter.

“Castro is one of the brightest stars in the blues-soul genre. Voracious blues energy and ultimate soul power...impassioned vocals and pure inventiveness in his stellar guitar solos.” —Blues Music Magazine

“Sizzling, slow-burning, gritty blues and rock...shimmering, swampy, downright funky vibes drenched with Castro’s stinging, pure and crisp lead runs and fluid, jet-fueled solos.” —Living Blues

“Soul-baring, roadhouse-meets-church, Memphis guitar licks...gritty voice...Southern colors and rootsy textures.” —Washington Post

On Friday, September 17, Alligator Records will release Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town, the trailblazing new album from internationally beloved blues rocker Tommy Castro. Throughout his long, constantly evolving career, guitarist, singer and songwriter Castro has always remained true to himself while exploring, growing and creating new music, and he has taken his thousands of devoted fans right along with him. Ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll, each of his 16 albums is solidly built upon Castro’s unshakable musical foundation—a dynamic mix of 1960s-influenced guitar-fueled blues, testifying Memphis-soaked blue-eyed soul and Latin-tinged East San Jose funk, all driven by Castro’s grab-you-by-the-collar vocals and passionate guitar work. Blues Revue declared, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”

Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town is a roots music odyssey. This special project was composed by Castro along with Grammy Award-winning producer Tom Hambridge. Through its 13 songs, The album tells the tale of a young man, working on his family farm, who gets bitten by the blues bug. He masters the guitar and heads out on the road seeking fame and fortune, only to find what he’s left behind is the treasure he’s been looking for. Each memorable song—from the blistering title track to the pleading Child Don’t Go to the hopeful I Caught A Break to the emotional Blues Prisoner—stands on its own, as well as contributing to the larger story.

“I like to keep things fresh and interesting,” says Castro, “Tom and I have talked about making a record together for a long time. Collaborating with him was even better than I imagined. I had an outline for the story and then Tom and I talked it out and the songs just started to organically grow out of each other.” Castro continues, “A Bluesman Came To Town isn’t a story about me. It’s pulled from some of my friends’ and my experiences, though. I’ve seen first-hand for a lot of years what it’s like out there on the road.”

The road has always been Castro’s home away from home. He’ll instantly ignite a crowd, turn them into loyal fans and then keep those fans coming back for more. He has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles and performed thousands of gigs, leading his bands at clubs, concert halls, and festivals all over the world. Famed guitarist Joe Bonamassa says, “Tommy has always been top of the heap among blues guitar players. He always puts on a great show.”

Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal, Mike Bloomfield and other blues artists of the day. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike and Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to the J. Geils Band to Tower Of Power, toured through the area, and Castro was at every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King, and Buddy Guy and Junior Wells at the same local blues bar, JJ’s, where he often jammed, dreaming of one day busting out. Mixing the blues and rock and roll he loved and the soul music he heard blasting from lowriders in his neighborhood Tommy started to create his own personal sound and style. He honed his guitar skills and intense, gritty vocals, learning how to capture an audience as he performed on San Francisco’s highly competitive club scene.

As his reputation spread, Tommy played in a variety of Bay Area bands, soon making a name for himself as a hotter-than-hot live artist bursting at the seams with talent. In 1985, he was recruited to become lead singer and guitarist for the regionally popular blues band NiteCry, gigging regularly throughout Northern California. Castro joined Warner Brothers’ artists The Dynatones in the late 1980s, performing all over the country. He formed the first Tommy Castro Band in 1992 and has not stopped touring since. In 1995, soon after releasing his first album on Blind Pig Records, The Tommy Castro Band was selected as the house band for three seasons on NBC Television’s Comedy Showcase (airing right after Saturday Night Live). The show brought him in front of millions of viewers every week and cemented his reputation as a not-to-be-missed, nationally touring live performer.

After a series of successful releases on the Blind Pig, Telarc and 33^rd Street labels, Tommy Castro joined Alligator Records in 2009. His label debut, Hard Believer, was released to massive popular and critical acclaim. With the album, Castro won four of his six career Blues Music Awards, including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award (the very highest award a blues performer can receive). In 2012, Castro stripped his music down to its raw essence, creating a high-energy, larger-than-life sound with the formation of The Painkillers. Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ initial release, The Devil You Know, was embraced by his legion of fans and discovered by hordes of new ones. With the current version of The Painkillers (bassist Randy McDonald, drummer Bowen Brown and keyboardist Michael Emerson), Castro released Method To My Madness in 2015, Stompin’ Ground in 2017, and Killin’ It–Live in 2019, with critics shouting praise and admirers cheering the group’s every move. The band has coalesced into one of the telepathically tightest units Castro has ever assembled, making them one of the most in-demand live roots music acts performing today, delivering one soul-shaking, muscular performance after another.

Upon the release of A Bluesman Came To Town, Castro will hit the road with The Painkillers, performing fan favorites as well as songs from the new album. “I’ve made seven albums for Alligator,” Castro says, “and I’ve never made the same record twice. I will always try to be my most authentic self. I give it all I’ve got every time we hit the stage!”