Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

About this event

The State Theatre presents Tommy Castro & The Painkillers and GA-20 The State Theatre Wednesday, November 11, 2026 Doors: 7pm Show: 8pm 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

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