Castro's

Will Whitwham
2024-09-29 15:00 - 18:00 (America/Toronto)
Will Whitwham is one of Canada’s most prolific and talented singer/songwriters. As a founding member of the Wilderness of Manitoba, he has written and recorded five albums and three EPs. The group was nominated for a JUNO award. The Wilderness of Manitoba toured Canada, the US, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany including performances at the End of the Road Festival, WOMAD, SXSW and the Reeperbahn Festival.
He has also written and recorded two albums as Lake Forest, an EP for the Whateverly Brothers, an album for Pyramid Tropic, and collaborated with recording artists Martha Johnson, Eamon McGrath and Delhi 2 Dublin. The Wilderness of Manitoba was nominated for Sync Artist or Songwriter of the Year at the first Canadian Sync Awards during Canadian Music Week. Their songs (written by Whitwham) have appeared in such US television series as This Is Us, Elementary, Parenthood and No Tomorrow among others. Whitwham’s next project is an EP under his own name called End of Dreams.

Trivia Night @ Castros
2024-10-01 19:00 - 22:00, 2024-11-05 19:00 - 21:00
Join us for a fun and friendly trivia night on the 1st Tuesday of every month at Castros. Free to play and prizes for the winners.

Mike Daley & Charlotte McAfee-Brunner
2024-10-03 18:00 - 20:00
Mike Daley is a guitarist and singer based in Toronto. A professional musician for over 30 years, Mike has toured Canada, the United States and England and has recorded extensively in a variety of musical styles. He is a longtime member of Fraser/Daley with bassist Alec Fraser and is also proud to work with a variety of bands around Toronto including the Tom Waits Appreciation Congregation, the Travellers and others.
Charlotte McAfee-Brunner is an award-winning trombonist, bandleader and vocalist Charlotte McAfee-Brunner has been making waves on the Toronto music scene recently. Her bands include: Charlotte McAfee-Brunner and her Fireflies, Grapevine and Trombone charlotte’s Tiger Band. Accomplished in several musical styles, she continues to perform as a sideman with many other excellent groups in Toronto, infusing any room with an undeniable energy. She is a part of the Happy Pals, Combo Royale, Thomas Steele’s 10tet, Dennis Kwok Jazz Orchestra, The Magnolia Brass Band and has been featured with many other groups. With her heart-stopping vocals and compelling trombone solos, Charlotte McAfee-Brunner is a jazz musician and performer you won’t forget and is regularly featured in some of the hottest venues in town.

Fraser / Daley
2024-10-04 17:30 - 19:30, 2024-10-18 17:30 - 19:30
A popular concert and recording act for over 14 years, Toronto-based Fraser/Daley has released three CDs of original music and performed widely, consistently entertaining audiences with their large and varied repertoire, big sound and spontaneous sense of fun. Alec Fraser hails from Glasgow, Scotland and is a respected bassist and Juno and Maple Blues Award winner. Mike Daley was dubbed by Jeff Healey ‘one of Canada’s finest guitarists’ and has a long list of live and studio credits. Alec and Mike met while working in Healey’s touring band in the mid-2000s and found that they enjoyed singing together after the gig. In 2008 they began playing together regularly in Toronto as Alec perfected a unique bass-drums combination instrument that gives this duo the unmistakable sound of a trio. Their three albums, Fraser/Daley, The Whole Fam Damily and Fifty Miles of Elbow Room have garnered steady sales and strong airplay on blues and folk radio, and Alec and Mike have become sought after for their versatile performances, playing everything from intimate house concerts to street dances. Learn more at fraserdaley.com.

DJ Rob
2024-10-04 22:00 - 2024-10-05 02:00, 2024-11-01 22:00 - 2024-11-02 02:00

Thelonious Hank
2024-10-05 17:00 - 19:00, 2024-11-02 17:00 - 19:00
Thelonious Hank plays your father’s country, rock n’ roll, and jazz. They don’t use set lists and they take requests all day long

Jillian Bunting
2024-10-06 15:00 - 18:00

Tom Waits Appreciation Congregation
2024-10-07 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-11-04 19:30 - 22:00
The Tom Waits Appreciation Congregation (TWAC) comprise of some of the best musicians in all of Toronto coming together for their love of Tom Waits and paying Tribute to him and his music!

Mike Daley & Lance Anderson
2024-10-10 18:00 - 20:00
Mike Daley is a guitarist and singer based in Toronto. A professional musician for over 30 years, Mike has toured Canada, the United States and England and has recorded extensively in a variety of musical styles. He is a longtime member of Fraser/Daley with bassist Alec Fraser and is also proud to work with a variety of bands around Toronto including the Tom Waits Appreciation Congregation, the Travellers and others.
Lance Anderson is a Juno award winning producer and Maple Blues Award winning keyboardist. He was honoured to be nominated for the MBA ‘Keyboardist of the Year’ once more in 2022 for his sixth nomination. Lance is a specialist in the N’Orleans piano style.

Sugar Rush
2024-10-11 17:30 - 19:30, 2024-10-25 17:30 - 19:30
Sugar Rush is the ultimate party band, playing really fun, upbeat covers spanning different genres from classic rock, funk, soul, blues, country, jazz, disco, 80s, motown, hard rock, reggae, oldies, R&B, and folk! Get ready for a full evening of dancing, singalongs and just really good music!
Sugar Rush has been a GTA staple since 2007, returning to the circuit after a brief hiatus, familiar to many a musician and music fan for their jam nights at the Curzon, their Friday night residency at the Loaded Dog, beach parties and corporate events. Anchored by Frankie Dee and Tony Carpino with a rotation of top notch players with special surprise guests and currently featuring Gary Lee Hill. This dynamic crew brings all the best classic rock, funk, soul, blues and much more to keep the floor filled. Always guaranteed sweet sounds with Sugar Rush.

Will Whitwham & Jared Craig
2024-10-12 17:00 - 19:00

Jenie Thai
2024-10-14 16:00 - 18:00
When you meet her, Jenie Thai is composed, pleasant, amiable, friendly, and — she won’t like the word but you have to live with it — sweet. She has an open face, long hair, a ready smile and an easy laugh.
And she is also tough, and gritty, and plays barrelhouse piano steeped in the blues — and if that wasn’t enough to get your head around, she also writes and sings tough and tender ballads, direct from her heart to yours.
There’s a new album, Night on Fire, with a sold out show at Toronto’s Hugh’s Room and — while she now calls Toronto home — she lives on the road, and there’s dust on her shoes, love in her heart, and a whole lot of music in her soul.

Mike Daley & David Celia
2024-10-17 18:00 - 20:00
Mike Daley is a guitarist and singer based in Toronto. A professional musician for over 30 years, Mike has toured Canada, the United States and England and has recorded extensively in a variety of musical styles. He is a longtime member of Fraser/Daley with bassist Alec Fraser and is also proud to work with a variety of bands around Toronto including the Tom Waits Appreciation Congregation, the Travellers and others.
David is an innovative singer/songwriter and astonishing guitar player, known for his spontaneously driven live performances. His songs have an open alt/folk style that’s also been described as “Beatlesque”.
He tours frequently across Canada and to Europe where he has played festivals such as Glastonbury (UK), Blue Balls (CH), Le Rock (FRA) and more. Also a Producer who has worked with More Please!, Mike Celia, Plants and Animals and more recently, German/Spanish songwriter Marla.
David has played with Canadian folk legends Ian & Sylvia and Gordon Lightfoot is a fan. As a result of playing sideman to Emiliana Torrini, he was invited to be one of the headliners at Braedslan Festival 2016 in Iceland.
“One of Toronto’s best guitar players” ~ CBC Radio 2

The Halloweiners
2024-10-18 21:00 - 23:00
The Halloweiners play nostalgic songs of October’s past, decorated in full costume. Soon to become and annual tradition, you will not want to miss it. Come dressed up as their will be PRIZES FOR THE BEST COSTUME!!

Yukon Cigar
2024-10-19 16:00 - 19:00
Yukon Cigar was lit in 2005. The idea? To take an earthy, hushed songwriting style and set it on fire. Now, after years on the Toronto club circuit (playing the likes of Cameron House, Castro’s Lounge, C’est What, El Mocambo, Rancho Relaxo, and the NXNE festival), mainstays Craig and Peter have taken to backyard parties and neighbourhood pubs, just two acoustics and a growing list of standards. With countless songs in the fire, here lies the promise of sweet sing-alongs to come.

Morgan Davis
2024-10-20 16:00 - 19:00
For nearly four decades Morgan Davis has been on the road travelling across Canada, the United States and Europe. His performances draw from a rich tradition of country blues, as well as his own contemporary songs infused with wit and a large dose of humour.

The 501 East
2024-10-21 20:00 - 22:00

Mike Daley & Jacob Moon
2024-10-24 18:00 - 20:00
Mike Daley is a guitarist and singer based in Toronto. A professional musician for over 30 years, Mike has toured Canada, the United States and England and has recorded extensively in a variety of musical styles. He is a longtime member of Fraser/Daley with bassist Alec Fraser and is also proud to work with a variety of bands around Toronto including the Tom Waits Appreciation Congregation, the Travellers and others.
Jacob Moon is known for his giftedness as a singer, songwriter of award-winning pop and folk songs. He is also a master of the art of ‘live looping’, a performance style where he records what he’s playing in real time and layers sound on sound to make one guitar sound like an orchestra.
Artists like Rush, Marillion and Gordon Lightfoot have taken a shine to Moon’s renditions of their songs and have lavished him praise and a spotlight that has gained him international attention. It is these inventive covers that draws the fans in, but it’s Moon’s original material (12 albums) and his compelling live show that make them pull up a chair.

Danny Marks
2024-10-26 17:00 - 19:00
This iconic rocker’s roots go back to the sixties as a founding member of Capitol Records’ group, Edward Bear. After a span as a journey man session musician throughout the seventies, Danny settled in to the club scene, establishing a cult following as a genre bender in music and humor.
A house band gig at Toronto’s famed Albert’s Hall led him to host his own nation-wide TV show, Stormy Monday. Through the eighties, Danny starred in CBC radio’s hit series the Hum Line.
Most recently, Danny Marks recorded two original music albums, Guitarchaeology and True, before paying tribute to Toronto’s R&B roots with Big Town Boy in 2005.
Danny’s in his thirteenth year as the radio host of JAZZ.FM91’s Saturday night blues show, bluz.fm.
As a child, young Danny would lock himself in his room with a stack of 45’s, an old Seabreeze record player, and a fantasy of having his own radio show. More than a few years later this pre-pubescent propensity paid off.

The Del-Fis
2024-10-27 15:00 - 18:00
I don’t know what The Del Fi’s are; the more I think about it, the more I don’t know what to say. But I know it’s right, and I know it’s good. I know it works. I mean, it’s Jerry Leger’s thing, but when I asked him what he would say The Del Fi’s are, all he would tell me is that I (meaning me) am The Del Fi’s, just as you (meaning you) are The Del Fi’s. And because you are you, you understand. Don’t you?
Okay, maybe we should try this again. Jerry Leger is a Toronto singer/songwriter, and one of the best in the world, as far as I’m concerned. If you haven’t heard him, you have no right to be one of these people constantly moaning about how music was so much better when people actually played instruments, blah, blah, blah.
Jerry loves Bob Dylan, Neil Young and John Lennon. Sometimes it sounds as though all three are fighting for space in his songs. But those songs are his own, the product of a natural born storyteller with a sense of rhythm that would make Little Richard’s big toe shoot up in his boot.
Jerry’s songs hit deep in your soul, but he also often loves just making music with folks just to flex some of his old time rock and roll muscles, and explore some of the paths his songwriting normally doesn’t take. That’s kinda where The Del Fi’s come in.
It’s rock and roll that we all care about right? I’m sure you wouldn’t still be reading this if you didn’t agree. So I guess that does make you a Del Fi. Welcome aboard and grab an instrument, we’ve got a show to do.

Gary Lee Hill featuring Stacie Tabb
2024-10-31 18:00 - 20:00
Join Gary Lee Hill, Stacie Tabb and killer rhythm section for an evening of rocking tunes.
Stacie Tabb – Vocals & Percussion
Gary Lee Hill – Guitar & Vocals
Joe Palawan – Keyboard
Da Rell Clifton – Drums

Ian Goodtimes
2024-11-01 17:30 - 19:30
Ian Goodtimes and his projects have been a huge part of my businesses The Dakota Tavern and The Hayloft Dancehall. Ian and his Mercenaries held down the coveted Sunday night residency slot for 6 years. At the Hayloft he played every opening weekend and most of our long weekend special events. The reason is simply he is consistently the hardest working and most entertaining man I know. Ian is a community builder in a community that needs more leaders and gig bosses like him. His genuine love for performing and entertaining attracts some of the countries best musicians who all want to play on his stage. What that does for a venue is create a spectacle vibe at every show that is invaluable to the story of the venue. I’m proud to have been part of Ian’s story and grateful he is part of mine.

D.B. Buxton
2024-11-03 15:00 - 18:00
Started off in music as a busker. Began working with bands in 2003. Began semi-professionally producing Hip Hop and Electronica in 2005. Released his first solo record in 2008. Is currently working on his 4th official release. He also scored his first film in 2012 and has worked in volunteer radio, hosting and producing programs and ads since 2007.

Mike Daley & Wayne DeAdder
2024-11-07 18:00 - 20:00
Mike Daley is a guitarist and singer based in Toronto. A professional musician for over 30 years, Mike has toured Canada, the United States and England and has recorded extensively in a variety of musical styles. He is a longtime member of Fraser/Daley with bassist Alec Fraser and is also proud to work with a variety of bands around Toronto including the Tom Waits Appreciation Congregation, the Travellers and others.
Wayne DeAdder is a “musician extraordinary” and a JUNO nominated songwriter. Wayne has contributed his inspirational talent to dozens of American and Canadian bands and solo artists. He has worked with the likes of Michael Pickett, Jeff Healey, David Wilcox, and Richard Bell (The Band, Bonnie Raitt), and written songs for two-time JUNO nominee Johnny Max Band, and Project 360, among others. He also toured in Europe in 2010 with the JUNO nominated band of an award winning singer and song writer Jimmy Bowskill.
