Albert Castiglia – SPACE, Evanston, July 22, 2025

Review & Photos: Jim Summaria

Albert Castiglia

at SPACE July 22, 2025

Review & Photos: By Jim Summaria

Albert Castiglia and his band put on a superb show at SPACE in Evanston on July 22. Castiglia blended a sprinkling of country, jazz, and soul to his mostly rock 'n' blues guitar work. His singing is reminiscent of a young Van Morrison.

Castiglia’s trio consisted of bassist Cliff Moore with drummer Ray Hangen who provided the guitarist with able backing. The guitarist’s songs serve as vehicles for his stories and messaging. His upbeat personality - front and center throughout the evening – rewarded the audience beyond the music.  

The Miami born and bred Castiglia received his first guitar at the age of twelve and instantly fell in love with the instrument. After college he worked for the State of Florida but knew he wanted to become a professional musician. He joined the Miami Blues Authority in 1990 and in 1996, Chicago blues legend Junior Wells caught their act and persuaded Castiglia to come to Chicago and join his band. After Wells died, Castiglia sought success on his own and by 2004 released his first album released. He has since become an artist in demand.

Castiglia has collaborated with John Primer, Larry McCray and Lurie Bell among many others. Recently, he partnered with Mike Zito to form the Blood Brothers, who occasionally toured with Chicago’s own Bill Murray. Castiglia has won several Blues Music Awards. His latest album Righteous Soul boasts collaborations with Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Joe Bonamassa, Danielle Nicole and most importantly his daughter Rayne.

The band came out blasting with "Big Toe" off his 2006 album A Stones Throw. Castiglia wasted no time in letting the crowd know they were in for a night of amazing music when he let out a blistering solo early in the song. Moore and Hagan propelled the pulse of the song. Someone sitting behind me yelled out a "wow," impressed with what they just heard.

A fast-paced Robin Trower meets Stevie Ray Vaughan influenced "Let the Big Dog Eat" followed from his 2016 album Big Dog. The band was in full throttle mode.

The band’s ZZ Top influence infiltrated the rocker "I Got Love" from the 2022 album of the same name that won a Blues Music Award for Best Blues Rock Album of 2023.  The honor was well-deserved.

Later in the show, Castiglia returned to the same album for "Depression Blues," but that was nothing depressing about the way Castiglia performed the Melvin Taylor tune. Using a wah wah pedal during solos, he made his guitar "talk and cry." A growling vocal hammered home the song’s intensity.

Castiglia played three songs off his 2024 album Righteous Soul, "Get Down to the Nitty Gritty," "Come on in This House" and "The Dollar Done Fell." The first is a blues shuffle originally performed by Luther "Snake" Johnson back in the 1970s. The threesome had fun with this one as they exchanged satisfying grins.

The guitarist’s time with Junior Well paid dividends, especially when he sang "Come on in This House," a song Wells originally wrote and released back in 1960. I was surprised that the Miami born and raised Castiglia sounded as if he’d been performing at South Side Chicago blues joints his entire life when he sang the song’s pleading lyrics:

And if I had a million dollars

I'd give you every dime

Just to hear you call me daddy

One more time

With his head tilted back, he squeezed out an emotionally wrenching guitar solo that further cemented his blues cred.

Cliff Moore

Bassist Cliff Moore led off the funky Buddy Guy song "The Dollar Done Fell" with a throbbing bass lick as drummer Ray Hangen laid down the groove. Castiglia complimented his rhythm section as both Moore and Hangen were given space to solo.

Between songs, Castiglia told stories about musicians – aside from Wells – that were important to him. He mentioned Pat de Leon who guided him on how to apply the all-important vibrato to his guitar leads. Castiglia also mentioned Bo Diddley and paid tribute by covering the influential musician’s "You Can't Judge a Book by its Cover." 

Next up was "Have You No Shame" – a country blues lament from his 2014 Solid Ground album. The mood lifted with the humorous but advice-giving song "Get Your Ass in the Van" from his Big Dog album. Castiglia  wrote the song for young, emerging musicians who are expecting immediate recognition and success:

Get your ass in the van…take the music, hit the road

There ain’t no American Idol or Jesus being made at the crossroads.

Quit your pissing and quit your moaning, quit your crying and quit your groaning.

Get your ass in the van…take the music, hit the road.

Ray Hangen

By this point in the evening, the SPACE audience had witnessed a spectacular performance, but the best was yet to come. The evening’s final three songs alone were worth the price of admission.

In 1959, Mongo Santamaria composed "Afro Blue" with John Coltrane putting his own unmistakable take on it four years later. Castiglia and his bandmates put together an Allman Brothers Band style rendition: a long instrumental jam long that featured drummer Hangen pushing the pace with rhythmic expertise as Moore peeled off searching, jazzy bass lines that reminded me of Berry Oakley’s playing with the Allmans. Castiglia was no bystander as his guitar evoked the memory of Dickie Betts and Duane Allman trading riffs. An enthusiastic standing ovation followed.

Castiglia then told a story about his Italian Uncle Joe, a Vietnam vet. His uncle often gave him Godfather-like advice over a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. The songwriter was compelled to pen the anthem "Heavy" in memory of his Uncle Joe.

The song appeared on his Blues Music Awards album Masterpiece, but tonight, he ladled some extra "sauce" onto this song with a gritty and emotionally charged vocal that transferred over to the strings of his Les Paul during a stirring solo. Another standing "O" occurred.

Seizing the moment, the band broke into Freddie King’s "Boogie Funk" that brought even the most self-conscious attendees to rise and shake their hips and booties as the tempo quickened with Castiglia’s playing.

As the song came back to earth, the guitar slinger played a few bars of the song "Black Sabbath" in honor of the late Ozzy Osbourne. It was then back to a fiery solo with the rhythm section ramping up once again. It was the last song of the evening but my body could have boogied all night listening to this talented trio.

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 Jim Summaria began professionally photographing rock concerts in 1973 at the age of 19 when he became the staff photographer for the Chicago rock concert promoter Flip Side Productions. Jim's photos have been published in numerous books, magazines and CDs. His rock ‘n’ roll photos have been viewed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum and Hall of Fame on Rt.66 and the Grammy Awards. Jim and writer Mark Plotnick co-authored the books Classic Rock: Photographs From Yesterday & Today and the October 2024 release ‘70s Chicagoland Rock Concerts.  Jim and Mark also co-host the radio podcast That Rock Show on the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum platform.

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