Tommy Castro and the Pain Killers – Closer to the Bone

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.

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ deceptively simple approach on Closer To The Bone delivers one thrilling performance after another. Says Castro, “Here, I’m not the contemporary guy, not the rock guy, not the soul guy. This is the deeper blues side of me. I know, with these songs, I am at my most authentic.”

“A great artist…impassioned vocals and pure inventiveness in his stellar guitar solos…He makes playing rough feel easy.” –Blues Music Magazine

Opening for Tommy is Mike Hammar and The Nails
A contemporary blues band from Central California. The band is made up of, frontman, Mike Hammar on guitar and vocals, Sparky Gehres on bass guitar, harmonica guru Mike “The Professor” Boykin, Allan “B3 Blues” Carroll on the Hammond organ (tours with us seasonally), and Greg Merino on the drums. They have performed their style of blues since 2001. Accolades for this veteran crew include winning the Monterey Bay Battle of the Blues Bands, two-time winners of the Modesto Area Music Awards for Best Jazz/Blues Band, Independent Music Awards Nominee, and Native American Music Awards Nominee. The band has three original albums to their credit, “Going Home” 2004, “Recipe for the Blues” 2010, and “Raised in The Dirt” 2024. Their original music has been featured on Sirius XM BB King Bluesville, college radio, American roots/blues music radio in Europe and is currently available on all popular music streaming platforms. Mike Hammar wrote and produced all of the albums. The songs are story-based, reflective, and humorous. For the past 23 years this band has enjoyed performing at blues/music festivals, community concerts, fairs, and clubs up and down the state. They have opened for ,or shared the bill with, some of the biggest names in the blues over the two decades. Their music and performances are best described as eclectic, energetic, heartfelt, upbeat, and original, blues with a wide variety of influences. Connect via social media at Facebook Mike Hammar and The Nails, Instagram Hammarblues, and Tik Tok Hammarblues. 

Doors at 6; showa t 7 p.m.