‘The connection to a person’s soul’

3/4/2026

As a blues musician, Tommy Castro first regarded his music career as a business, performing with different bands since the early 1990s.

However, in 2008 and after more than 20 years of performing, he received a blues award for his “Soul Shakers” album. After that, he was nominated on a regular basis, receiving more than a dozen blues awards.

His last honor was receiving the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award for the fifth time. 

“The last time was a big surprise. I didn’t release an album or even go to the awards show,” he recalls. “It was amazing I wound up winning.” 

Castro won a Blues Foundation award and Blues Rock award. In 2025, his “Closer to the Bone” album was the number one most played on the Top 100 Blues Album. “Closer” also won “Blues Blast Magazine” Blues album of the year and a Blues Rock Artist award.

Castro is thrilled with the awards. 

“As times goes on, it means I’m still relevant among all the talented blues musicians. Other guys deserves it just as well,” he says.

Castro was raised in California and picked up a guitar at age 10. His older brother played the guitar and gravitated toƒward the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He says he didn’t think he would be a career musician. 

“After seeing the Beatles on TV, most people thought they’d pursue a career in music. Not me,” he reflects. “I thought it was too much fun. Why would anyone pay people to do something fun?”

As Castro trudged through jobs, he played music as a side gig. 

“I always looked forward to my times with the band. It finally dawned on me, if I put my effort into playing music, maybe that could be my business,” he says. 

After releasing a record in the 1990s, his band was picked to do a television show. He was leader of the house band for NBC’s “Comedy Showcase,” which aired after Saturday Night Live.  

Proving himself as a band leader and entertainer who mixed the blues with soul, R&B and funk, the TV show opened up opportunities. The B.B. King Festival tour invited him along with Buddy Guy and Susan Tedeschi. He says playing with B.B. King was surreal.

“When I heard the first real blues man, B.B. King, I lost my mind and realized how he influenced other guys. I could understand it and mimic it,” he says.

Throughout the years, Castro has a regular entertainer on the Rhythm and Blues Cruises, playing 35 cruises the past two decades. On the Blues Cruise, he met his long-time heroes, Elvin Bishop and Taj Mahal. 

“I remember when I was 15 years old and listening to Taj Mahal on my record player. Then, when I met him on the cruise, I never would have dreamed I would be talking to him or playing the same lineup as him. I didn’t think I deserved to play with guys like that,” he says. “Those guys can still do it. It never gets old.” 

Castro embraces his blues musical career. 

“Blues isn’t pop music, and you won’t be a big star, so why chose the blues?” he says. “It chose me. I did it for fun, and the fact that I could make a career happen is surprising to me.”

He says performing the blues is soulful rather than a specific technique. 

“You can play in different levels — bars, theaters — where some genres are only in a stadium. You can meet the musician after the show. You get a lot for your money when you follow a blues musician,” he says.

Castro appears with his band, The Painkillers, at xBk Live in Des Moines on March 11.

He is eager to return to Iowa, where he played at the Blues on Grand. He cherishes reconnecting with friends and fans at the venues. 

“If anyone listens to the blues, you feel something. Blues is about the connection to a person’s soul. If you play the blues and soul, it always feels good.”  

For ticket info, visit www.xbklive.com.