Albert Castiglia returns to Bradenton

If you're a blues fan in the Bradenton area, chances are you've seen Albert Castiglia play. The New York-born, Miami-based guitar wizard has been a headliner at both the Bradenton Blues Festival and the Suncoast Blues Festival in Sarasota.

And if you've seen Castiglia play, chances are you'll be excited to learn that he's coming to the area again. He'll be at Ace's Live in Bradenton on Friday night.

He heads a four-piece band (Castiglia, a drummer, a bassist and a B3 player) that plays blues-rock influenced by Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy and Luther Allison. They have a new album called "Big Dog" slated to come out this month, produced by Mike Zito.

Castiglia has added a couple of new musicians to his band in recent months, and says the band has never sounded better. And anyone who saw Castiglia perform at the 2013 Bradenton Blues Festival knows that the band sounded awfully good even then.

Castliglia was already an established and respected blues man in main -- he was named Best Blues Guitarist in Miami by the Miami New Times in 1997 -- when he got his big break. Blues harp player Junior Wells heard Castiglia and invited him to join his tour. He served as Wells' guitarist until Wells died a couple of years later. He returned to Florida and played with the Alligator Alley Allstars until he went solo and released his first solo album in 2004.

Details: 9 p.m. May 13, Ace's Live, 4343 Palma Sola Blvd., Bradenton. Tickets: $12 advance, $15 at the door. Information: 941-795-3886, aceslivemusic.com.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Albert Castiglia returns to Bradenton ."