Photo: Dragan Tasic
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers Announce Closer To The Bone Tour
Award-winning, California-based blues and rock sensation Tommy Castro — the guitar slinging, soul-singing leader of the telepathically tight and wildly raucous Tommy Castro & The Painkillers — has announced the first leg of dates for the band’s upcoming ‘Closer To The Bone’ tour. The new album, 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. It will be released on Friday, February 7, 2025. According to Castro, “this is a record I’ve always wanted to make.”
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, including Johnny Nitro, Magic Slim, Ron Thompson and Mike Duke. Castro additionally chose obscure songs by Wynonie Harris, Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Nolen and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. According to Castro, “These are not the obvious artists people generally cover, and that was most definitely on purpose.”
The ‘Closer To The Bone’ Tour, with newest Painkiller, drummer Stewart Burr, will kick off in Austin, Texas on February 11, followed by performances in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and New Orleans. The band will hit the East Coast including dates in New York and Philadelphia, before heading to the Midwest. Further dates will be announced soon.
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers Tour:
Jan 10, 2025 The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Jan 11, 2025 Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
Jan 12, 2025 The Venice West, Venice, CA
Jan 14, 2025 Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
Jan 15, 2025 MIM Music Theater, Phoenix, AZ
Jan 16, 2025 Palm Springs Cultural Center (with special guest Deanna Bogart), Palm Springs, CA
Jan 17, 2025 Stage Red, Fontana, CA
Jan 18, 2025 The Siren, Morro Bay, CA
Jan 19, 2025 Moe’s Alley, Santa Cruz, CA
Jan 25, 2025 The Funky Biscuit, Boca Raton, FL
Jan 26, 2025 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise (01/26/25-02/02/25), Fort Lauderdale, FL
February 7, 2025 – Closer To The Bone album release
Feb 11, 2025 Antone’s (with special guest Marcia Ball), Austin, TX
Feb 12, 2025 The Kessler Theater (with special guest Marcia Ball), Dallas, TX
Feb 13, 2025 Sam’s Burger Joint (with special guest Marcia Ball), San Antonio, TX
Feb 14, 2025 The Heights Theater (with special guest Marcia Ball), Houston, TX
Feb 15, 2025 Chickie Wah Wah, New Orleans, LA
Feb 18, 2025 The Tin Pan, Richmond, VA
Feb 19, 2025 World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA
Feb 20, 2025 The Iridium, New York, NY
Feb 21, 2025 Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, Portsmouth, NH
Feb 22, 2025 Shea Theater Arts Center, Turners Falls, MA
Feb 23, 2025 The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, Old Saybrook, CT
Feb 25, 2025 Funk ‘n Waffles, Syracuse, NY
Feb 26, 2025 The State Theatre, State College, PA
Feb 27, 2025 Musikfest Café at the ArtsQuest Center, Bethlehem, PA
Feb 28, 2025 Moondog’s, Blawnox, PA
Mar 01, 2025 Stuart’s Opera House, Nelsonville, OH
Mar 02, 2025 The Southgate House Revival, Newport, KY
Mar 04, 2025 The Castle Theatre, Bloomington, IL
Mar 05, 2025 SPACE, Evanston, IL
Tommy Castro website
Castro has released 16 previous albums over the course of his four-decade career as a world-beloved, headlining touring musician. Each record mixes horn-fueled R&B, piping hot blues and soul with fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll. With 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 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. On song after song, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers deliver one raw, inspired 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.”
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