Albert Castiglia

Albert Castiglia refuses to stand still. From his early work with blues legend Junior Wells to the award winning solo career that followed, his path has always balanced tradition with evolution. That journey continues with Grits & Glory, his thirteenth solo release. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the album feels both like a continuation and a culmination — a distillation of everything he’s absorbed, lived, and pushed against across three decades as a working class songwriter. Created during a whirlwind period that found him juggling multiple projects including The Blood Brothers with Mike Zito and an unexpected run of tour dates with cult icon Bill Murray, Grits & Glory channels that momentum into something expansive and electrifying. Castiglia leans into jazz textures inspired by John Coltrane, digs into the Latin rhythms of his Cuban heritage, and threads a funky groove through songs like “When the Coin Came Calling.” “The blues is the canvas that holds everything together” he says “and the colors all fall on top of it.” Born in New York City to a Cuban mother and Italian father, Castiglia moved to Miami at age five, learning early that music doesn’t fit inside boundaries. A secondhand copy of Eric Clapton’s Just One Night introduced him to the blues, leading to lifelong admiration for Muddy Waters and B.B. King. Those influences fueled his breakout as Junior Wells’ hotshot guitarist. “I’m influenced by anything that can give me goosebumps,” he says. “It’s about feeling.”