When Albert Castiglia last played the Oriental Theater in January 2024, he arrived as a four-time Blues Music Awards winner, with two honors apiece for Blues Rock Album of the Year and Blues Rock Artist of the Year. Since then, the résumé has only grown. Castiglia has added two more Blues Rock Album of the Year awards, winning in 2024 and again in 2026 for the first two releases from Blood Brothers, his collaboration with longtime friend Mike Zito.
Put another way: the Big Dog still has plenty of bite.
On Wednesday night, touring behind his latest solo album, Grits & Glory, released just three weeks earlier on July 31, Castiglia returned to the Oriental Theater with a set that balanced new material, fan favorites, and a reverent nod to one of his greatest influences.
Since his previous solo stop in the Denver area, Castiglia has issued two new solo albums. The first, Righteous Souls, arrived in July 2024 with 11 tracks, mostly blues covers accented by a handful of originals, and a guest list that reads like a roll call of contemporary blues and blues-rock talent.
The 90-minute, 13-song performance reflected that recent creative surge. Five selections came from Grits & Glory, two from Righteous Souls, and the remaining six drew from earlier corners of Castiglia’s catalog, as well as three Jimi Hendrix covers.
He opened with “Big Toe,” from 2006’s A Stone’s Throw, a long-running live staple and, for as long as I have been covering him, a reliable show starter. (See the insert below for the backstory on this rather macabre tune.) From there, he moved into “Michigan Avenue,” the lead single from Grits & Glory. Nearly two decades separate the songs, but they share the same stage-ready DNA: buoyant grooves, a touch of funk, plenty of muscle, and the kind of guitar work that makes Castiglia’s reputation feel fully earned.
Part of the pleasure of a Castiglia show is what happens between the songs. He is a natural raconteur, and before launching into a three-song Hendrix tribute, he described recording Grits & Glory at Abbey Road Studios in London and visiting Jimi Hendrix’s former apartment. While there, Castiglia was invited to play three Hendrix songs on acoustic guitar. The tribute that followed – “Little Wing,” “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return),” and “Hey Joe” – mirrored that experience and became one of the evening’s most affecting moments, less imitation than gratitude rendered in volume and tone.
If the Hendrix sequence was the night’s marquee tribute, the emotional peak arrived a few songs later with Luther Allison’s “Drowning at the Bottom,” which Castiglia first covered on 2016’s Big Dog. Before easing into it, he recalled a late-night conversation (possibly fueled by too much tequila) with actor, comedian, and honorary Blood Brother Bill Murray, who beseeched him to slow the song down. The choice proved inspired. Allison’s original and Castiglia’s earlier reading already carry plenty of ache, but at this tempo the song opened wider, revealing more vulnerability, more desperation, and more space for Castiglia’s solos to rise and burn. When it ended, there was only one honest reaction: wow.
(The full setlist, in order, appears in the photo gallery below. The 13th song both was and was not an encore: the band was still onstage taking bows when the crowd began chanting, “One More Song!” Castiglia smiled, thanked them for not waiting until the band had disappeared backstage, and immediately steered the group into the finale.)
Castiglia may be the gravitational center of the show, but the rhythm section deserved more than a passing notice. Bassist Cliff Moore and drummer Ray Hangen were superb throughout. I like to say there are people who play bass and people who PLAY bass; Moore belongs emphatically in the latter category. Bass players do not always receive the spotlight, particularly behind a frontman as commanding as Castiglia, but anyone paying attention could hear how much Moore shaped the feel of the night. Hangen matched him with power and precision, locking in tightly and giving every song a sturdy, propulsive foundation.
Their showcase came during Buddy Guy’s “The Dollar Done Fell,” when Castiglia stepped offstage for several minutes and left Moore and Hangen to hold the room with nothing but bass, drums, and groove. They did exactly that.
Then there is Castiglia himself. If memory serves, this was my fifth time covering him live, and he remains one of my favorite artists to photograph and review because he delivers on every level. The guitar work is fierce, the voice fits the material like worn leather, and the stage presence is impossible to fake. Many players can sing; many can burn through a solo; some can hold a crowd. Castiglia does all three while adding something rarer: the instinct of a born entertainer. His quicksilver facial expressions are a gift to photographers, his marching-in-place shuffle injects personality into every solo, and his stories – by turns sarcastic, funny, and sincere – make the audience feel like part of the conversation rather than spectators at a distance.
Awards and albums tell one part of Albert Castiglia’s story, but the truest version still unfolds under stage lights. At the Oriental Theater, he again proved why he remains one of blues-rock’s most compelling performers: a ferocious guitarist, a generous bandleader, and a storyteller with the timing to turn a concert into an experience. The show was loud, loose, heartfelt, funny, and, at times, genuinely jaw-dropping – exactly what audiences have come to expect from the Big Dog.
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As always, sincere thanks to the staff at the Oriental Theater. You make me feel welcome every time I cover a show there, and while that may sound simple, it is never taken for granted.
A shoutout as well to familiar faces in the crowd, especially DB1, Ben, and Steve. The blues community truly is a brotherhood, and I appreciate the part each of you plays in it.
And thanks to Mark Sundermeier for continuing to bring exceptional live blues to the Denver area. The first concert I ever covered was one Mark promoted – Tommy Castro & The Painkillers at the Oriental in 2021. Keep bringing them, Mark, and I’ll keep showing up, cameras in tow.
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
