ELEVATE Concert Series A HOLIDAY BLUES CELEBRATION
Featured Performers:
- Tommy Castro & the Painkillers
Blues band led by 11-time Blues Music Award winner Tommy Castro
- United by Music America
Portland-based Americana and blues group bringing musicians together through performance and mentorship
Join us at the Gig Harbor Vintage Aero Museum on December 20 for elevater Concert Series: A Holiday Blues Celebration. Hear Tommy Castro & the Painkillers and United by Music America perform in a concert benefiting both United by Music and the museum.
- DECEMBER 20, 2026
- PREMIUM ACCESS: 4:30 PM
- CONCERT: 5:30 PM - Close
Meet the Musicians
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers
Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of six-string stars like Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal and Mike Bloomfield.
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers have won 11 Blues Music Awards and are up for six more in the current cycle. Their new album, "Closer To The Bone," continues a catalog that includes "Can't Catch A Break," "Common Ground" and "Ride." The band tours year-round, with dates across the United States and Europe.
Castro is also a mentor for United by Music America. That makes this December concert a reunion of sorts, with a working blues band sharing the stage with musicians Castro has helped coach. For one Sunday night, the hangar fills with the sound that earned all those awards.
United by Music America
United by Music America is a Portland-based 501(c)(3) founded in 2012 by Barbara Hammerman and Amanda Gresham. Its performance program brings together neuro-diverse and neuro-typical musicians with exceptional talent and pairs them with professional mentors. Those mentors include Bobby Rush, Shemekia Copeland, Kenny Neal, Curtis Salgado, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram and Tommy Castro. Led by award-winning Music Director Dave Fleschner, the band released the EP "We've Got The Music," which was recorded with those mentors.
Program Ambassador Artist Sweet Marlana is known for her National Anthem performances. The Blues Foundation gave Hammerman its Keeping the Blues Alive award, and Gresham has won six Anthem Awards for the organization's work.