his summer concert tours. Castro received an open invitation to join King on stage for the nightly finale. Castro has released albums on the Telarc, 33rd Street and Heart And Soul and most recently on the Alligator label, as well as on Blind Pig. His album Guilty of Love featured the last recording session for John Lee Hooker. In 2002 he was featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley – A Tribute!, performing the song "I Can Tell". In 2007 the readers of BluesWax (online magazine) voted Painkiller as BluesWax album of the year. It also won the 2008 Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year. In 2009, Castro joined the roster of Chicago's Alligator Records with his release Hard Believer, produced by John Porter. The album was described by Billboard as "irresistibly funky…it has a street-level grit and a soulful sincerity that's impossible to ignore." Blues Revue said Hard Believer is "a fine set of roadhouse-rockin' blues.". Blurt says, "Hard Believer might just be the best yet from this veteran Bay Area blues artist." In May 2010, The Blues Foundation awarded Castro multiple Blues Music Award honors for Blues Male Artist of the Year, Contemporary Blues Album of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, and with his band, Band of the Year. In 2011, Castro stripped down his band to a four-piece unit called the Painkillers with bassist Randy McDonald from the original Tommy Castro Band, keyboardist James Pace and original Painkillers drummer Byron Cage. 2013's The Devil You Know, was recorded with this line-up plus guest appearances by Marcia Ball, Tab Benoit, Joe Bonamassa, The Holmes Brothers, and Magic Dick. The album was reviewed by Allmusic.com, saying "Castro brings fiery garage energy to everything. His guitar playing is fired up and roaring with a renewed sharpness that keeps the pot boiling. His voice is a soulful and versatile blue-collar growl. This album is full of the blues, but it's also like a full-charged blue-eyed R&B and soul review, making this one of Castro's finest releases." In 2015, recording with long-standing bassist Randy McDonald, keyboard player Mike Emerson (Elvin Bishop, Carlene Carter, James Armstrong, Petty Theft), and drummer Bowen Brown he released, Method To My Madness, which debuted at number four in the Billboard Blues Albums Chart. On September 29, 2017, he released Stompin' Ground (Alligator) again with Painkillers' bassist Randy