Blood Brothers to perform in Safety Harbor

SAFETY HARBOR — Blood Brothers will perform Thursday, March 23, at the Safety Harbor Art & Music Center, 706 Second St. N., Safety Harbor.

Doors open at 7 p.m. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 the day of the show. Visit www.safetyharborartandmusiccenter.com.

Gulf Coast Records’ Blues Music Award-Winners Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia bond as Blood Brothers on a new CD due out this month. “Blood Brothers” was produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith and recorded at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana.

Zito and Castiglia are true “blood brothers” in life and in the music they create both individually and collectively, joining forces in a collaborative effort of songwriting and performances to create a total listening experience greater than the sum of its parts. Added to that process are the talents of Bonamassa and Smith, who brought fresh ideas to the recording sessions, according to a press release from Intrepid Artists.

“Mike and Albert have a special chemistry together when they plug in and play that few have,” Bonamassa said. “They finish each other’s sentences musically. Great tunes, great people, great hang! What’s not to like? It was an honor to be involved in this project.”

“Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia have done something special,” added Smith. “They have both found their musical confidante. Most solo artists never even look — let alone find — theirs. They have brought together a real ‘band’ using members of each’s solo acts. The sum of all these parts added with a tremendous effort to both write and perform the strongest record of their respective careers has paid off in a special album.”

Zito and Castiglia are on the road in support of the new album. They will bring together their two powerhouse bands, featuring Matt Johnson on drums; Ephraim Lowell on drums; Doug Byrkit on bass; and Lewis Stephens on piano/organ. Both Zito and Castiglia will be onstage performing together for the entire show, so fans can enjoy the amazing chemistry and creativity that these two musicians share with each other and the audience. In addition to their own rock, blues and roots individual tunes, the set will feature a number of songs from the “Blood Brothers” album.

Both Zito and Castiglia are celebrating their most recent albums: Zito’s double live set, “Blues for the Southside,” was released in February 2021 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart. Castiglia’s latest solo disc, “I Got Love,” was released in May 2022 and also charted very high.

Zito won the 2022 Blues Music Award for Blues Rock Album. Castiglia won the BMA for Blues Rock Artist.