Tommy Castro & The Painkillers Livestream Event

On April 24, 2026 at Jimmy's Jazz & Blues Club in Portsmouth, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers bring a lean, hard-grooving take on electric blues. A California guitarist, singer and bandleader with more than four decades on the road, Castro blends blues, R&B, soul and rock with a focus on feel and song. His gravelly, soulful voice meets crisp, singing guitar lines, channeled through a quartet that keeps the arrangements tight and the rhythm section upfront.

Seventeen albums in, he circles back to his roots with Closer To The Bone, his eighth Alligator Records release, cut at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studio, with a back-to-basics, guitar-forward sound and rawer textures. Onstage, it’s boogie pulses, urban blues bite and soul inflections that build and release, song after song. Known for a no-frills approach and constant touring, Castro has also picked up ten Blues Music Awards, including four B.B. King Entertainer of the Year honors. The Painkillers keep it direct and dynamic, letting the tunes breathe and the solos sting.