Albert Castiglia is the “Big Dog” of the blues with both the current Blues Rock Artist and Blues Rock album awards for 2022 to his credit. I was lucky enough to catch him and his band last night, November 16th, at the Music Back Then Performance Theater in West Haven, Connecticut. I have always maintained that the best way to experience blues artists is in a small club or intimate theater and the Music Back Then Performance Theater certainly is that.
One of the first songs that Albert played during the two hour show was his hit, Let The Big Dog Eat. As he related during the performance, for thirty years nobody knew who he was. He earned his chops with the likes of Junior Wells and Melvin Taylor as he paid his blues dues and then suddenly…bam….he is an “overnight sensation”. Albert’s last four albums have all been blues hits with the latest, I Got Love, released on Gulf Coast Records. He is now one of the premier artists of the contemporary blues and he wears the mantle well.
Albert is from a long line of blues artists (e.g. Buddy Guy and Bo Diddley) who are unapologetic lovers of loud guitars and driving beats. With a disarming smile and an intensity that emanates from the stage, he ripped through a number of his hits including Get Your Ass In the Van, Depression Blues, a moving cover of Heavy, and Masterpiece. He is a guitar maestro as he moves about the stage and at one point did an extended solo just using his left hand….it was pretty damn cool. And he is a storyteller! He talked about his time working with some of the greats of the blues and was surprisingly candid about how he found out five years ago that he had a daughter and two grandchildren and how that has impacted his life and music. And, in a bit of roadhouse blues news, he said he is working on a new album that will feature his daughter on vocals!!
The Albert Castiglia Band consists of Albert, Ephraim Lowell (drums), and Cliff Moore (bass). I got to speak briefly with Ephraim, one of my favorite blues drummers, after the show. We had last chatted when I interviewed the Blood Brothers back stage in April. (See my interview HERE.) Ephraim said the band was pretty excited about the current tour that runs through January. Some upcoming highlight performances will be at the Iridium in New York City (Nov 18th), the Buckingham Blues Bar in Tice, Florida (Dec 2nd), and Antone’s in Austin (Jan 16th). Check their tour schedule to see if they get close to where you live!
One of the hallmarks and traditions of the blues is sharing your stage with other blues artists. So it was a really nice when Kevin Burt got up and sang with the band. Kevin has a new album that is a tribute to Bill Withers that will be out in January. He is a big man with a HUGE soulful voice. He and Albert are friends and he was in the area so he literally popped in. He did a cover of the Thrill is Gone that brought the crowd to its feet and then helped close the show with a rousing version of Messin’ With the Kid.
As noted in a recent CBS 60 Minutes segment broadcast to millions of viewers, the blues is experiencing a resurgence. That is due, at least in part, to energetic and passionate live performances by blues stars like Big Dog Albert Castiglia!
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Ben Vee started out spinning songs on terrestrial radio and at nightclubs back in the 1970’s in his home state of Louisiana. After a career in the construction business, he returned to DJing in 2011. He now hosts two shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and writes about the blues at http://www.benveeblues.com from his home in Connecticut. He also has a personal 24 hour stream devoted to the Roadhouse Blues… WRHB as well as a Youtube channel.
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