Tommy Castro & Tinsley Ellis

“The hardest thing to do,” says internationally beloved soul-blues rocker Tommy Castro, “is be yourself, take some chances and bring your fans along with you.” Throughout his long, constantly evolving career, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Tommy Castro has always remained true to himself while exploring, growing, and creating new music, and he has taken his thousands of devoted fans right along with him. Since his solo debut in 1994, he’s made 16 albums—the last seven for Alligator—each its own unique chapter in the book of Tommy Castro.

Ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll, each release is solidly built upon Castro’s unshakable musical foundation—a dynamic mix of 1960s-influenced guitar-fueled blues, testifying Memphis-soaked blue-eyed soul and Latin-tinged East San Jose funk, all driven by Castro’s grab-you-by-the-collar vocals and passionate guitar work. Blues Revue declared, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”

Since his Alligator debut 30 years ago, Southern blues-rock guitar wizard, vocalist, and songwriter Tinsley Ellis has become a bona fide worldwide guitar hero. The Chicago Sun-Times says, “It’s hard to overstate the raw power of his music.” Now, he makes his triumphant return to Alligator Records with a powerful new album, Winning Hand. Armed with his signature molten licks, melodic riffs, and rousing, intense solos, Ellis, as his legions of fans will attest, is among the blues world’s best-loved, hardest working, and most well-traveled statesmen. He has performed in all 50 United States as well as in Canada, Western and Eastern Europe, Australia, and South America, earning legions of fans with his guitar virtuosity, passionate vocals, and memorable original songs

Ellis is also revered as a guitarist’s guitarist, with famous friends including Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Oliver Wood, Jonny Lang, and members of Widespread Panic calling on him to sit in and jam. “A musician never got famous staying home,” he says

Get ready for Tommy Castro & Tinsley Ellis as each band will take the stage for their own original sets with a third rip-roaring set that features Tommy & Tinsley doing a unique collaboration!