Real Music, Real Roots: Albert Castiglia Comes Home to the Broward Center

By Joanie Cox Henry

The blues guitarist talks touring with Bill Murray, his South Florida roots, and why AI will never out-soul a Junior Wells song

There are artists who talk about authenticity and artists who live it. Albert Castiglia is emphatically the latter. The Miami-raised blues guitarist, a man who earned his stripes backing the legendary Junior Wells, won a Blues Music Award for Masterpiece, and has spent decades electrifying audiences from the Mississippi Delta to the Sunset Strip is a few weeks into a rare stretch of downtime when we catch him on the phone. He sounds relaxed, reflective, and deeply pleased with where his life has landed. South Florida Concert News was delighted to catch up with this local legend turned national superstar.

"I'm glad all this stuff is happening now in my 50s," he says with a laugh, "and not in my 20s. I would've taken it for granted then."

That kind of bone-dry honesty is the throughline of everything Castiglia does, whether he's coaxing fire out of a Stratocaster or writing songs that crack open his own chest. And it's that honesty that makes his current run with Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers featuring Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia feel like something more than a tour. It feels more like a statement. The Florida run includes stops in Clearwater (April 17), Jacksonville (April 19), Fort Myers (April 21), and most meaningfully for the South Florida–born guitarist, a homecoming at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale on April 18.

Bill Murray, Basketball Talk, and Nick Lowe

Castiglia is currently having a blast on the road with Bill Murray. Yes, that Bill Murray. The Ghostbusters Bill Murray. The Lost in Translation Bill Murray. The guy who crashes your bachelor party because, well, he's Bill Murray. But here's what you might not know: he's also an obsessive audiophile with a deep, genuinely encyclopedic love of music. "People might not know this about Bill, but he's got a deep knowledge of music," Castiglia says. "He'll pull up obscure covers of songs I didn't know existed."

The current touring partnership grew out of the Blood Brothers collaboration between Castiglia and blues-rock heavyweight Mike Zito, a project that has already produced two studio albums and a live record. Murray joined the family because he wanted to — full stop. "He loves Mike and I, Jimmy Vivino, Jimmy Carpenter, all the players in the band," Castiglia says. "He wants to get our names out. He's doing it for us, and he enjoys the performance side too. He just wants to be a part of the band."

Behind the scenes, the conversation between Murray and Castiglia is equal parts music nerd session and SportsCenter. "We talk a lot of sports, actually," Castiglia admits. "He's probably the only other guy in the band who knows as much, or more, about sports than I do."

When the subject does turn to music? Murray arrives with homework. "Just the other day, he wants to do a Nick Lowe song "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding." He cited the Nick Lowe version specifically. That's a great song."

It's a surreal, genuinely joyful collaboration. But for Castiglia, pulling into South Florida carries a weight that has nothing to do with celebrity.

A Prophet Coming Home

Miami is in Castiglia's bones. He grew up there, played his first sweaty bar sets there in his late teens, and watched a thriving blues scene with Iko-Iko, Rocket Johnny and others do something remarkable in a city better known for neon and nightlife.

"Miami had a very underrated scene back in the day," he says with pride. "It was something to behold. I wish, as a Miamian, I could share it more with people because it's really rich, particularly in blues."

He rattles off the history with the enthusiasm of a man who has carried it with him everywhere: Ray Charles cutting his earliest recordings on Flagler Street. Sam and Dave hailing from Miami. The storied sessions at Criteria Studios. And then there's Raúl Malo of the Mavericks, a Cuban kid from Westchester who loved Hank Williams and built a career around it. "He was an inspiration because he was a Cuban guy who was passionate about sharing country music with the world from Miami," Castiglia says. "That's kind of how I looked at my own place in the blues genre. I just did what I wanted to do and tried to be as original as I can."

Playing the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale, a venue he's spent two decades driving past, performing in proximity to, building toward, carries a particular kind of charge. "Broward is very special to me," he says. "I spent 20 years in Wilton Manors." He searches for the right word to describe what it means.

"It's validation," Castiglia explains.

When Castiglia hits the stage, chances are he'll be doing it in a Rock Roll n Soul shirt. The rocker confesses he's obsessed with the brand. "Zito is the one who turned me onto those shirt," Castiglia says of the rock-inspired clothing line available on rockrollnsoul.com. "I've been stalking the website to see the latest arrivals. I can't stop buying those shirts. I've got a Rock Roll n Soul fetish. It's all I wear."

The Junior Wells Classroom

Any honest account of Albert Castiglia's development as an artist runs through Junior Wells, the Chicago blues titan who handed Castiglia the guitar chair once held by Buddy Guy and showed him something no lesson could teach.

"The greatest lesson I learned from him was how to connect with an audience," Castiglia says. "Before I joined his band, I was kind of quiet. I just played with my head down." Moving to Chicago to work with Wells changed everything. "I got to see him perform and connect with audiences every night. He had a way of making them feel like they were a part of the show. That really changed the game for me."

Wells also modeled something rarer: the willingness to be emotionally exposed on stage. "As long as you walk this earth, you're always going to encounter things in your life, good or bad," Castiglia says. "Sometimes it gets to the point where you want to share those stories with people, and they're usually tied into the songs you perform or write. I enjoy carrying little bits and pieces of my life on stage. It's vital to my show."

That vulnerability found its rawest expression on "Can't Be a Prophet," one of the most talked-about tracks in his catalog, a song born out of a prolonged, deeply personal dispute with a South Florida club that, Castiglia felt, had deliberately kept him financially suppressed as a local act.

"They were perfectly happy keeping me down as long as I lived in Florida. I think they felt they could keep their thumb on me and not allow me to grow financially," Castiglia says, his voice still carrying an edge. "I write songs out of extreme emotions. I was definitely angry when I wrote this song."

He pauses. "It's very cathartic to write."

Blood Brothers and the Help Yourself Era

The other engine powering Castiglia's moment is the Blood Brothers project with Mike Zito and their most recent studio album, Help Yourself, recorded at Shock City Studios in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, a city with deep roots for Zito. The record was produced collaboratively, with Castiglia and Zito sharing credits but leaning heavily on the full band's input. "The band was definitely a big part of the production," he says. "It was great to just be in the room with the guys, creating on our own — very different from having Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith in the booth."

As for the future of the project: Castiglia hints at a 2027 release and isn't ruling anything out. "We've already got two studio albums and a live album. Stay tuned," he adds.

The name Blood Brothers isn't metaphor. It's geography of the soul. "A friend wouldn't let him get away with saying the stuff he says to me most of the time," Castiglia deadpans. "It's very much like a Lennon-McCartney thing. It's a brotherhood. And when we're at our best, it's a very creative force."

He's also got his eyes on future collaborators: Warren Haynes (whom he met at Red Rocks last year), Derek Trucks, Dwayne Betts, and Marcus King. He jammed with Christone "Kingfish" Ingram just last week. "This life affords things that money can't buy," he says simply. "The ability to jam with your peers is one of those things."

On AI, Authenticity, and the Blues That Outlasts Everything

Bring up artificial intelligence and Castiglia gets that same edge in his voice, though it softens into something more considered. He's not panicking. He's just unimpressed. "I just don't think it's good enough," he says flatly. "It's soulless. AI music can't compare to a Chris Stapleton composition, or a song written by Junior Wells, or a Buddy Guy. Real music rises to the top."

He's equally clear about where he stands as a creator: "I would never collaborate with a computer," Castiglia reveals. "It just doesn't seem normal to me."

Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers featuring Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia perform at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale on April 18. For tickets and information, visit Browardcenter.org.

For more on Albert Castiglia, visit albertcastiglia.net.

The Blood Brothers' latest album, Help Yourself, is available now.