Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar, Carlos Del Junco and the Blues Mongrels Come to Festival Place

Festival Place is the place for Blues in March with performances by Tommy Castro and the Painkillers (March 9), Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar (March 23), and Carlos Del Junco and the Blues Mongrels (March 24).

Tommy Castro, a six-time Blues Music Award-winner, has played thousands of shows to hundreds of thousands of ecstatic fans. Castro's band, The Painkillers, bring an unmatched passion to Castro's blue-eyed California soul and hard-rocking, good-time songs. Delivering the songs from his brand new Alligator release, Stompin' Ground, Castro both looks back with autobiographical originals and cover songs that inspired him, melding contemporary lyrics with blistering blues-rock.

Five-time Maple Blues Award Nominee, Samantha Martin returns to Festival Place, March 23 with a six piece band. Bubbling up from the cauldron of roots Americana music, Samantha is an artist of extraordinary power, gravitas and deep-seated emotion. The group's latest recording, Run to Me, explores the full range of the vicissitudes of love: desire, betrayal and, at times, emotional and sexual satisfaction. The lyrics are incisive, the melodies are arresting, and the harmonies and arrangements call up the best of the soul sounds of Stax Records and such contemporary artists as Leon Bridges, Sharon Jones, and Lee Fields.

Simultaneously sophisticated and raw, Carlos Del Junco and the Blues Mongrels (March 24) blur the boundaries between blues and jazz; delivering a seamless fusion of New Orleans second line grooves, swing, Latin, hip-hop or ska melodies and swampy roots rock. Carlos Del Junco won the Maple Blues Award for "Harmonica Player of the Year" eight times and has been nominated for countless other awards including a JUNO award for "Blues Album of the Year".

Festival Place continues to be Alberta's #1 Presenter of Professional Artists. The 2017/2018 season showcased an eclectic mix of over 80 incredibly talented performers. The 2018/2019 season carries on the same ambitious standard of entertainment, with over 30 performances already scheduled in 2019, with new shows added throughout the year. For more information, visit festivalplace.ab.ca.

Tommy Castro and the Painkillers at Festival Place
March 9, 2019
7:30 pm
Tickets: $39 - $45

Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar at Festival Place
March 23, 2019
7:30 PM
Tickets $31 - $35

Carlos Del Junco and the Blues Mongrels at Festival Place
March 24, 2019
7:30 PM
Tickets $31 - $35

Tickets are available through the Festival Place Box Office (780.449.3378) or through Ticketmaster.ca.