Tommy Castro & The Painkillers entertained a packed and eager crowd at Santa Fe’s Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery this week.
The doors were scheduled to open an hour before the show was set to start, however, eager fans lined up outside waiting to gain access and reserve their spot, ready for the arrival of Tommy Castro & The Painkillers. To add to the growing anticipation, the band was running behind schedule for the show. Rumor has it their tour bus broke down en route. Even with all of that going on, however, they were only 20 minutes late taking to the stage. To be honest, we’ve attended shows that have begun way later than this without any excuse at all. It was clear to see from the moment the band stepped out onto the stage, the crowd clearly did not hold it against them.
An hour before the show began, every seat in the venue was spoken for. But within seconds of Tommy Castro & The Painkillers playing their first note of the evening, many seats were vacated as the audience members rushed to the dance floor and immediately proceeded to get their groove on. This was such a great sight to behold. Within a matter of just a song or two, the dance floor was packed.
2022 was a huge year for Tommy Castro. He won three of the top Blues Music Awards – B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Blues Band of the Year. On top of that, he celebrated 30 years as a bandleader, 30 years working with bassist Randy McDonald, and also the 10th anniversary of the band’s current lineup with McDonald, Bowen Brown on drums, and Michael Emerson on keyboards. Then to top all of this off, he won his second consecutive B.B. King Entertainer of the Year at the Blues Music Awards this year. Now that is impressive in anybody’s book.
You can tell just by watching the band that they have performed together for a long time. They put on such a tight performance, responding to each other’s signals with just a mere glance. After the rumored stress they’d had just getting to the show, they could have been excused for looking a little flustered when they took to the stage. But they looked anything but. This is one very well-oiled machine that knows exactly how to entertain a crowd, and they did just that, and then some.
This show was covered as part of our fundraising trip for National Independent Venue Foundation and Musicians On Call. We are traveling across the country and stopping at independently-owned music venues to cover a show and to chat with their owners about the importance of independent music venues within the music industry. Austin was our tenth stop of the trip and we were lucky enough to make a stop at independently owned Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery on our travels.You can read more about this fundraising trip here. If you would like to donate to NIVF, you can do so here, and if you would like to donate to Musicians On Call, you can do so here. All proceeds go directly to your chosen organization.
