Castro's

Will Whitwham & Jared Craig
2023-12-16 17:00 - 19:00, 2023-12-31 22:00 - 2024-01-01 00:00, 2024-01-21 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.

Sugar Rush
2023-12-17 15:00 - 18:00, 2024-01-05 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-01-19 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.

Mike Daley & Bazil Donovan
2023-12-21 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.
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia — but raised in Toronto — Bazil “Baz” Donovan gained fame as the longtime bassist for Blue Rodeo. Though traditionally associated with country music (especially hardcore old-time country classics), he is adept at every genre he attempts. He first picked up a guitar at nine and the bass at 13, and started playing professionally at 17. His first group — composed of friends from high school — was a covers band called Demons. His first touring gig was the All-Star Bar Band, a country covers outfit that Donovan describes as “a human jukebox.” In 1980, Donovan joined the Sharks (a new wave-funk combo) with Blue Rodeo’s original drummer Cleave Anderson, David Baxter, and vocalist Sherry Kean, before joining up with two Toronto groups, Strike One (a reggae-ska band) and Scab (a punk outfit).
In 1984, Donovan answered the now-famous ad in NOW magazine that read, “If you’ve dropped acid at least 20 times, lost 3 or 4 years to booze and are looking good and can still manage to keep time, call Jim or Greg.” At a friend’s suggestion, Donovan answered the ad, leaving a message with Jim’s wife, Rena. By serendipity, Greg Keelor, Jim Cuddy, and Donovan’s old friend Cleave Anderson (who had just joined the band) were sitting around the Bamboo discussing who they could get for bass. Since they all knew one another from the circuit, Donovan’s name came up and Cuddy recalled seeing his name in response to the ad. The threesome called from the restaurant and Donovan was rehearsing with Blue Rodeo the next day. Their first gig came six months later at Toronto’s Rivoli.
Donovan has continued to play with other artists despite remaining one of the three founding members of Blue Rodeo, playing with artists like Oh Susanna (co-writing two songs on her Sleepy Little Sailor album) and Justin Rutledge. His unique relationship with Greg Keelor is chronicled in the song, “Me & Baz” on Blue Rodeo’s Tremolo album. His predilection toward country music is ironic in that, in his own words, “I did not love country music (when I started playing it) — it was my parents’ music — but I had my Jimi Hendrix and King Crimson records at home to rock my world.” Bazil Donovan’s ability to pick up a guitar and bass and launch into a song from any genre — he performs an impromptu version of Randy Travis’ “Diggin’ Up Bones” on Blue Rodeo’s 2008 documentary, Blue Road — is what makes him the ultimate musician’s musician. He can play with any artists and make whatever style of music they may be delving into literally “rock.”
Donovan’s “solo” country career actually began when he was still in high school, playing on the country music circuit in Toronto. At the time, his girlfriend was a singer who was performing to make extra money to put herself through school. One night at one of her gigs, the band’s bassist — who was also an ambulance driver — got an emergency call just as the gig was starting. Donovan filled in for what became the first of many shows — soon after, he was working Queen Street regularly: three weeks at the Winchester Hotel, two weeks at the Claremont Tavern, a month at the Drake Hotel, and a month at the Parkdale Tavern. Eventually, for matinee shows, lead vocalists wouldn’t show up because of hangovers and Donovan began singing the cover songs, leading him to title his first solo album Matinee (a set of his best-loved cover versions).

Little Magic Sam
2023-12-22 17:30 - 19:30
When the world gets down on Little Magic Sam, he gets down on a Les Paul. Hailing from St.Thomas, ON, Sam Taylor is a born entertainer with a penchant for raw blues and soul music and lyrics that bely someone much older than his 29 years. With an enormous stage presence, it comes as no surprise that this multi-talented singer/songwriter has been performing internationally since the age of 7.

Thelonious Hank
2023-12-23 17:00 - 19:00, 2024-01-06 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

Mike Daley & Selena Evangeline
2023-12-28 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.
Growing up with the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, Chaka Khan, Prince, Sting, Janet Jackson and Stevie Wonder helped shape the artist that is Selena Evangeline. She was a grand prize finalist in Caribbean Idol in 2011 and the winner of Avon’s first-ever Global Talent Search – Avon Voices. As a songwriter, her snapshots of real life have won her an Ontario Independent Music Award for Best Urban, an honourable mention in the 2007 and 2008 John Lennon Songwriting contest, and had nine of her songs from “This Girl’s Life” (her debut album as Selena 7tySix) featured on CTV’s “Da Kink In My Hair”.

Staig & Billings
2023-12-30 17:00 - 19:00
Chris Staig’s music has been described as “a winning combination of power pop, roots rock and singer/songwriter pop.” Chris Staig has been described as a “songwriting Charles Atlas”

Steve Good's Hank Williams Tribute
2023-12-31 15:30 - 17:30
Celebrate New Years Eve in Honky Tonkin’ style. Yes, friends Hank Williams A Ghost from the Past is bringing unfiltered honky tonk to Castros Lounge!

Tom Waits Appreciation Congregation
2024-01-01 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!

Trivia Night @ Castros
2024-01-02 19:00 - 22:00
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 & Sugar Brown
2024-01-04 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.
There is something to be said about the dedication, ambition, and determination of a scholar; the drive to be the best and to offer his best work on whatever project is presented. Enter Sugar Brown, aka Dr. Ken Kawashima, PhD. Kawashima is a scholar and professor of East Asian history, as well as a scholar of music. His chosen musical endeavour is classic blues music and a concerted effort to record and preserve the unmistakable Chicago blues sound that harkens back to Chess Record’s famous releases. Sugar Brown’s two album releases have stunned listeners and reviewers around the world, with his ease and force in playing and singing blues. He quickly earned recognition for his classic style and raucous performances from the media and festival bookers coast-to-coast. Recently, Sugar Brown’s repertoire has morphed beyond Chicago blues and into a more chaotic and wild space shared by the Texas blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins and Frankie Lee Sims, as well as the trancelike blues of northern Mississippi’s R.L. Burnside. Sugar Brown’s highly developed song writing, guitar prowess and vocals reveal his many diverse grooves, shades, and styles. Sugar Brown’s blues is sweet, dark, inconsolable, raw, and wild.

DJ Rob
2024-01-05 22:00 - 2024-01-06 02:00

Lily Frost
2024-01-07 15:00 - 18:00
Lily Frost is a dramatic, stylish performer who draws from the aesthetic of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the soundtracks of Quentin Tarantino, and the hot & bothered emotional drama that goes on between us fascinating humans. The poetry of Rimbaud, the erotica of Anaïs Nin, and torch singers like Julie London & Juliette Greco serve as strong influences. Frost has toured from Paris to Los Angeles and has shared stages with Pink Martini, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Coldplay and many more. Her awards include the Video Silver Sun through Bravo, a Gemini nomination for her theme song co-write for the hit TV series “Being Erica”, and Vancouver Female Vocalist of the Year in 2003. Lily’s songs have been frequently placed in TV shows and movies such as Grey’s Anatomy, Crazy Beautiful, Chevy Cobalt, Charmed, Felicity, and many more. Her efforts are now focused on curating a show that combines swing, rockabilly, burlesque, dance & fashion in an event called Big City Social.

Mike Daley & Dylan Bell
2024-01-11 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.
In a word… multifaceted. Juno-nominated Dylan Bell is a vocalist, instrumentalist (piano, bass, guitar, percussion), composer/arranger, music director and producer/engineer. Dylan has worked with groups ranging from vocal jazz, (Cadence, Hampton Avenue, the Swingle Singers, FreePlay Duo, The Watch), to vocal pop (Retrocity, the Nylons) to eclectic jazz and world music (Autorickshaw, Ray Montford Group), to classical (Nathaniel Dett Chorale; Lara St John) to flat-out rock ‘n’ roll (Honeymoon Suite). He’s played stages across the world from his native Toronto, to Stockholm, Sweden, to Calcutta, India, and his compositions and arrangements are performed across the world from Arnprior to Zurich. His book “A Cappella Arranging” (co-written with Deke Sharon) was published in 2013.

Fraser / Daley
2024-01-12 17:30 - 19:30, 2024-01-26 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.

Danny Marks
2024-01-13 17:00 - 19:00, 2024-01-27 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.

Lucas Stagg & The Junctioneers
2024-01-14 15:00 - 18:00
Based in the heart of Toronto’s Junction, Stagg has toured endlessly and released over a dozen albums in the past two decades, each a reflection of his choice of the troubadour life. By turns confessional and narrative, the songs are presented in an unadorned performance style that throws their lyrical and melodic content into sharp relief. It’s edgy and cartoony; country, blues and rock ‘n’ roll.

Mike Daley & Matt Weidinger
2024-01-18 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.
Matt Weidinger has established himself as a full time musician since the age of 16 having surpassed thousands of hours in the trade. During his formative years, Weidinger found a home within the thriving blues scene in Kitchener-Waterloo, playing regular club gigs with its leading practitioners while still in high school. Since then Matt has worked his way up to being one of the most sought after and well known entertainers in Ontario. He is a singer/songwriter and a multi instrumentalist. He has three original albums under his belt and although considers the Hammond Organ, his instrument of choice, is equally comfortable on piano, guitar, bass and mandolin. He joined forces with Lance Anderson in 12-piece band called “Matchedash Parish” whose debut album Saturday Night earned them a 2020 Maple Blues Awards nomination for New Artist of the Year.

Gary Lee Hill & Stacie Tabb
2024-01-20 17:00 - 19:00
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
Mark McIntyre – Bass
Wilson Laurencin – Drums

The 501 East
2024-01-22 20:00 - 22:00

Mike Daley & Mark Thackway
2024-01-25 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.
Mark Thackway is a veteran of legendary jam bands like The Other One and Days of You. He performs with WS Dupree and other conglomerations including this popular duo with Mike Daley, playing acoustic versions of the music of the Grateful Dead.

Communism
2024-01-26 21:00 - 23:00
Communism is a dance party band with high ideals and high kicks. Original songs and classic dance floor anthems by Donna Summer, Kate Bush, Talking Heads, Prince, and much 80’s.

Don Kerr drums (Bahamas, Dan Mangan, Ron Sexsmith, Rheostatics)
Jason Haberman bass (Yaehsun, Yukon Blonde, Dan Mangan)
Mike O’Brien guitar (Zeus, Dan Mangan)
Craig Small – projections

We are Communism – Don, Mike, Jason, & Craig. Joy, unity, and a dance floor for your heart.

Left Turn (with Mike Sedgewick & Juliett Ann)
2024-01-28 15:00 - 18:00
What happens when a seasoned blues band steps outside the genre and covers all the hits from the past few decades in pop, rock, funk, R&B? You get Left Turn. Born out of the popular Friday Night Blues Jam, the house band decided that they needed an act that would allow them to combine all of the different influences the members bring to the table. One song to the next is a complete left turn from covers of: Lenny Kravitz, Beatles, Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, Rolling Stones, Bill Withers, GnR, Doobie Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, AC/DC, Hendrix, 4 Non Blondes, Tina Turner, etc. This high energy act plays with the conviction of a blues band, which creates a unique vibe and experience for the listener. This band has been gaining attention with a standout debut performance at the 2023 East York Blues Festival. Come and see what all the buzz is about! The band is made up of the powerhouse vocals of Juliet Ann, searing guitar chops of Mike Sedgewick, thundering bass of Tex Bach, and solid groove of Paul Domanski.
