Tommy Castro and the Painkillers

Wed Mar 5 2025

7:30 PM (Doors 6:30 PM)

SPACE

1245 Chicago Avenue Evanston, IL 60202

$20.00 - $25.00

All Ages

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Multiple award-winning, California-based blues and rock sensation Tommy Castro is the guitar slinging, soul-singing leader of the telepathically tight and wildly raucous Tommy Castro & The Painkillers. He’s released 17 previous albums over the course of his four-decade career. Each release features its own individual sound and style, ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues and soul to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll. With his new album, Closer To The Bone, Castro has returned to his roots, delivering what he calls “a real blues record, the way they would have made them back in the day.” Closer To The Bone is the most unvarnished, straight-ahead blues release of Castro’s career, one that bristles with every ounce of his dynamic energy and raw emotion.

On Closer To The Bone (Castro’s 8th Alligator release), Castro and his Painkillers—bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Mike Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown—mix new Castro originals (Ain’t Worth The Heartache, Can’t Catch A Break, Crazy Woman Blues) with songs originally performed by many of Castro’s friends and heroes. Artists and their songs include Johnny Nitro (One More Night, on which Castro plays his treasured 1966 black Fender Stratocaster, a guitar once owned by Nitro himself), Magic Slim (Hole In The Wall), Ron Thompson (Freight Train), Mike Duke (Keep Your Dog Inside) and Chris Cain (Woke Up And Smelled The Coffee). Castro additionally chose obscure songs by Wynonie Harris (Bloodshot Eyes), Eddie Taylor (Stroll Out West), Jimmy Nolen (The Way You Do) and Johnny “Guitar” Watson (She Moves Me). According to Castro, “These are not the obvious artists people generally cover, and that was most definitely on purpose.”

Closer To The Bone was produced by master guitarist and studio wizard Christoffer “Kid” Andersen (producer of over 100 albums), at his now-famous Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California. Closer To The Bone finds Castro at the top of his game, bringing his seemingly limitless energy and boundless talent to the studio. Guests on the album include labelmates Andersen, Rick Estrin, Chris Cain and Billy Branch, along with saxophone player/vocalist Deanna Bogart, keyboard wizard Jim Pugh and, on three songs, the voices of The Sons Of The Soul Revivers.

Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of six-string stars like Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal and Mike Bloomfield. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike and Tina Turner to Janis Joplin 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 a local club, JJ’s Blues Bar. Castro often jammed at JJ’s, dreaming of busting out and making a name for himself. He created his own personal sound and style by mixing the blues, R&B and funk music he loved into his own, instantly recognizable brand of uplifting, soul-healing music.

Tommy Castro and the Painkillers

  • Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

    Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

    Blues

    Night after night, Tommy Castro, a fierce and fiery road warrior, fervently delivers his driving, blues-soaked, soul-baring music to fans all over the world. The road is where he honed his guitar playing to a razor’s edge. It’s where he learned how to captivate an audience with his intensely passionate vocals and his memorable songs, licks and grooves. It’s where he learned to turn his band into a dynamic, high-performance engine, able to bring down the house with a soulful ballad and then bring fans to their feet with a blistering blues rocker. In the words of Blues Revue, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”

    Over the course of his four-decade career, Castro has played thousands of shows to hundreds of thousands of fans, packing dance floors, always leaving them screaming for more. He has released 14 albums filled with original blues, soul and West Coast rock, each one standing alone. Hailing from the San Francisco area, Castro, along with his band, The Painkillers (currently featuring bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Michael Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown), play music that is guaranteed to fire up fans and leave critics searching for new words of praise. Billboard says the band plays “irresistible contemporary blues-rock” with “street-level grit and soul.” Now, with Method To My Madness, the group turns the intensity up another notch.

    “My main objective when making a new album,” says Castro, “is to do something different from before. I’ve always been a blues guy; it’s what I’m meant to do. But I’m always listening and reacting to what’s going on in the outside world, experimenting with my guitar tone and my songwriting approach to constantly keep my music fresh. In the end, though, my brand is on every song.”Method To My Madness finds Tommy Castro And The Painkillers at their very best. It is instantly a career-defining highlight in a lifetime full of them. The album was recorded at Laughing Tiger Studio in San Rafael, California and produced by Castro (his first time at the helm) using no recording studio wizardry, just the unadulterated sound of the band. Castro’s songs—he wrote or co-wrote 10 of 12 tracks—are raw, raucous and rocking. From the opening one-two punch of everyman anthems Common Groundand Shine A Light to the full-tilt energy of the title track to the searing, deep soul ballad Died And Gone To Heaven, Tommy and the band are firing on all cylinders. From the bayou rock of Got A Lot and the atmospheric, autobiographical Ride to the reinvented version of the Clarence Carter hit I’m Qualified and the emotional cover of B.B. King’s Bad Luck, Tommy Castro And The Painkillers continue to break new ground while simultaneously having an incredible amount of fun.

    Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of Eric Clapton, Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield and other blues rock players. As he got older, Castro discovered the blues guitar work of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Elmore James and the deep-rooted soul of singers like Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. By his 20s he was playing in a variety of San Francisco-area blues and soul bands

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limit 10 per person
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$25.00
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SRO
$20.00
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ADA
$20.00

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Tommy Castro and the Painkillers

Wed Mar 5 2025 7:30 PM

(Doors 6:30 PM)

SPACE Evanston IL
Tommy Castro and the Painkillers

$20.00 - $25.00 All Ages

Multiple award-winning, California-based blues and rock sensation Tommy Castro is the guitar slinging, soul-singing leader of the telepathically tight and wildly raucous Tommy Castro & The Painkillers. He’s released 17 previous albums over the course of his four-decade career. Each release features its own individual sound and style, ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues and soul to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll. With his new album, Closer To The Bone, Castro has returned to his roots, delivering what he calls “a real blues record, the way they would have made them back in the day.” Closer To The Bone is the most unvarnished, straight-ahead blues release of Castro’s career, one that bristles with every ounce of his dynamic energy and raw emotion.

On Closer To The Bone (Castro’s 8th Alligator release), Castro and his Painkillers—bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Mike Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown—mix new Castro originals (Ain’t Worth The Heartache, Can’t Catch A Break, Crazy Woman Blues) with songs originally performed by many of Castro’s friends and heroes. Artists and their songs include Johnny Nitro (One More Night, on which Castro plays his treasured 1966 black Fender Stratocaster, a guitar once owned by Nitro himself), Magic Slim (Hole In The Wall), Ron Thompson (Freight Train), Mike Duke (Keep Your Dog Inside) and Chris Cain (Woke Up And Smelled The Coffee). Castro additionally chose obscure songs by Wynonie Harris (Bloodshot Eyes), Eddie Taylor (Stroll Out West), Jimmy Nolen (The Way You Do) and Johnny “Guitar” Watson (She Moves Me). According to Castro, “These are not the obvious artists people generally cover, and that was most definitely on purpose.”

Closer To The Bone was produced by master guitarist and studio wizard Christoffer “Kid” Andersen (producer of over 100 albums), at his now-famous Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California. Closer To The Bone finds Castro at the top of his game, bringing his seemingly limitless energy and boundless talent to the studio. Guests on the album include labelmates Andersen, Rick Estrin, Chris Cain and Billy Branch, along with saxophone player/vocalist Deanna Bogart, keyboard wizard Jim Pugh and, on three songs, the voices of The Sons Of The Soul Revivers.

Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of six-string stars like Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal and Mike Bloomfield. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike and Tina Turner to Janis Joplin 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 a local club, JJ’s Blues Bar. Castro often jammed at JJ’s, dreaming of busting out and making a name for himself. He created his own personal sound and style by mixing the blues, R&B and funk music he loved into his own, instantly recognizable brand of uplifting, soul-healing music.

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

Blues

Night after night, Tommy Castro, a fierce and fiery road warrior, fervently delivers his driving, blues-soaked, soul-baring music to fans all over the world. The road is where he honed his guitar playing to a razor’s edge. It’s where he learned how to captivate an audience with his intensely passionate vocals and his memorable songs, licks and grooves. It’s where he learned to turn his band into a dynamic, high-performance engine, able to bring down the house with a soulful ballad and then bring fans to their feet with a blistering blues rocker. In the words of Blues Revue, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”

Over the course of his four-decade career, Castro has played thousands of shows to hundreds of thousands of fans, packing dance floors, always leaving them screaming for more. He has released 14 albums filled with original blues, soul and West Coast rock, each one standing alone. Hailing from the San Francisco area, Castro, along with his band, The Painkillers (currently featuring bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Michael Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown), play music that is guaranteed to fire up fans and leave critics searching for new words of praise. Billboard says the band plays “irresistible contemporary blues-rock” with “street-level grit and soul.” Now, with Method To My Madness, the group turns the intensity up another notch.

“My main objective when making a new album,” says Castro, “is to do something different from before. I’ve always been a blues guy; it’s what I’m meant to do. But I’m always listening and reacting to what’s going on in the outside world, experimenting with my guitar tone and my songwriting approach to constantly keep my music fresh. In the end, though, my brand is on every song.”Method To My Madness finds Tommy Castro And The Painkillers at their very best. It is instantly a career-defining highlight in a lifetime full of them. The album was recorded at Laughing Tiger Studio in San Rafael, California and produced by Castro (his first time at the helm) using no recording studio wizardry, just the unadulterated sound of the band. Castro’s songs—he wrote or co-wrote 10 of 12 tracks—are raw, raucous and rocking. From the opening one-two punch of everyman anthems Common Groundand Shine A Light to the full-tilt energy of the title track to the searing, deep soul ballad Died And Gone To Heaven, Tommy and the band are firing on all cylinders. From the bayou rock of Got A Lot and the atmospheric, autobiographical Ride to the reinvented version of the Clarence Carter hit I’m Qualified and the emotional cover of B.B. King’s Bad Luck, Tommy Castro And The Painkillers continue to break new ground while simultaneously having an incredible amount of fun.

Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of Eric Clapton, Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield and other blues rock players. As he got older, Castro discovered the blues guitar work of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Elmore James and the deep-rooted soul of singers like Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. By his 20s he was playing in a variety of San Francisco-area blues and soul bands

Please correct the information below.

Select ticket quantity.

Select Sections

AVAILABILITY: HIGH - LOW

Select Tickets

All Ages
limit 10 per person
GA Seated
$25.00
Standing Room Only
SRO
$20.00
ADA Seat
ADA
$20.00

Delivery Method

ticketFast