Blues Fans Pick Tommy Castro Artist of Year

Readers of Blueswax , which claims to be the largest subscribed readership in the world, selected Tommy Castro as Artist of the Year 2006.

"I like these kind of awards best because it is folks that support the music, the average blues fan, that is giving me the thumbs up," Castro said. "That makes me feel great! It's great when industry people recognize me, but when it comes down to it, it's the people who listen to the music that I have spent my life making that really matter."

Blueswax Publisher Chip Eagle said Castro took the honor with a record number of first-place votes. Blueswax is a weekly ezine with nearly 100,000 subscribers.

"I love Tommy Castro and I'm very happy our readers selected him," said Eagle. "There are few artists as deserving as he is. He gives everything to his fans, never puts on a bad show, and has one of the best blues bands in the world."

Having seen Castro's high-energy performance on three occasions within the last two years, I concur. Aside from being a hunk, he's a triple threat (or should that be treat?) as a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. He could do toothpaste commercials with that big smile of his!

"Tommy also possesses remarkable charisma which has allowed him to wow and win fans on every stage he's performed on," the magazine noted.

In October the Mayor of San Francisco declared "Tommy Castro Day." The honor was in recognition of Castro's support of various community projects as well as his musical achievements while serving as the city's unofficial musical ambassador throughout the country and the world.

Each time I saw Castro perform (in Springfield and Peoria in Central Illinois), he made it a point to urge audience members to support their local blues clubs, and he always was available to sign CDs for fans, and one of those events was a fund-raiser.

Castro's music is a blend of blend of rock, blues, and Memphis soul. The band started 2007 performing on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, followed by headlining the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue Tour.

Castro also just released another CD, Painkiller, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Blues Chart, then moved up to No. 2.