Bluesman Tommy Castro coming to Sebastopol for Blues, Brews, BBQs
Bluesman Tommy Castro coming to Sebastopol for Blues, Brews, BBQs
Rotary Club benefit concert on June 3 in Ives Park also features the Marshall Law Band and El Mo grad Jacob Philip Benning and his band Sloe Gin
By Rollie Atkinson
Recent summers in Sonoma County have not been complete without a visit from one of the Bay Area’s top bluesman and rocking musician Tommy Castro. This year Castro is bringing his Painkillers band to Sebastopol’s Ives Park for a June 3 concert, also featuring two opening acts, Jacob Philip Benning & Slo Gin and Seattle-based Marshal Law Band.
Last summer, Castro played at Cloverdale’s Friday Night Live and the crowd jammed and closed Cloverdale Boulevard. The summer before that, Castro and his Painkillers drew the largest crowd of the season to Windsor’s Summer on the Green concerts. This year is Sebastopol’s turn.
Castro started leading his own bands in 1991 and scored hist first major record label contract in 1994. He now records for Alligator Records and has played with John Lee Hooker, Charlie Musslewhite, Elvin Bishop, Los Lobos. His most recent album “A Bluesman Comes to Town” was recorded in 2021 and has won several music awards.
Advance tickets for the concert are available at Eventbrite.com for $35. (Day of concert tickets will be slightly higher.) Local brews from Hen House, Lagunitas, Bear Republic, plus local wines and barbecue plates and other local food treats will be sold.
All proceeds will support the Rotary Club of Sebastopol’s children’s swim programs, vocational programs, mental health, scholarships, exchange students, Ukraine and “many more worthwhile causes that make Sebastopol a better place,” according the Club’s promotions.
“I always enjoy playing for the crowds in Sonoma County,” Castro told KRCB radio’s Doug Jayne in a recent interview to promote the June 3 event. “We’re going to put on a good show,” the Bay Area native promised.
Last month, Castro won the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award for the second year in a row. “I was flabbergasted,” Castro said. “This never happens. I couldn’t have imagined it.”
Remarking on his four-decade music career, Castro told Jayne that two different tours with B.B. King in Europe and the United States were the highlights of his career.
“You could never find a more honest man in music,” Castro said.
Castro just completed an extended tour of Europe and is home in the Bay Area for a few weeks before heading off on the road again.
In the past, Sebastopol’s Ives Park’s amphitheater stage has hosted Rotary’s annual Cajun Festivals and was the original site of the ongoing Peacetown Concert series. The city-owned venue also has been the site of summertime Shakespeare in the Park series, Days of Rumi celebrations and other musical benefits. June 3 attendees are encouraged to bring low lawn chairs or blankets. Children are welcome, but dogs will not be allowed.
The event runs from noon to 7 p.m. with the Painkillers expected to take the stage for its first set at 3:45 p.m.
Opening the day’s music will be west county native Jacob Philip Benning and his band Slo Gin. An El Molino High School graduate, Benning’s growing career has seen him perform solo, fronting his own bluegrass band and his current ensemble that features roots, Americana and some grittier, self-written songs.
The Marshal Law Band is a six-person funk and soul unit that is known for getting audiences on their feet early and never sitting down. In their home base of Seattle, the band has gained a social justice reputation and has been called “Seattle’s soundtrack” during recent times of street demonstrations following the George Floyd murder. The band does not preach or make speeches, but lets its horn ensemble, guitar lead and funky rhythm section do its talking.
The Rotary Club of Sebastopol is staffing the June 3 concert with all volunteers, and most of the beer, barbecue dishes, wines, vegetarian options and desserts have been donated by local businesses.
For tickets and more information, visit Eventbrite.com.
Rollie Atkinson is the former publisher of Sonoma West Times & News, The Healdsburg Tribune, The Windsor Times and the Cloverdale Reveille. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Sebastopol and is one of the organizers of this event.