Del Castillo Rocks The Kessler with a Joyous Mix of Cultures

Del Castillo Concert - Mina Frannea Review - North Texas Kids Magazine

Del Castillo Concert - Mina Frannea Review - North Texas Kids Magazine

Concert Review: Del Castillo at The Kessler

 

by Mina Frannea

My husband and I had a chance to have a night out to ourselves. For our date night, we went to see Austin-based Del Castillo perform at The Kessler. Formed by talented musician brothers Mark and Rick del Castillo, the band has a great performance style, their music a fusion of Latin and Rock-n-Roll with a resounding, cross-cultural beat that makes you want to get up and move.

Lead singer Alex Ruiz’s voice has a soothing, sultry tone and the artist brings an edgy, soulful energy into his movement on stage that seems to come from a place deep within.

Alex Ruiz - Del Castillo - Mina Frannea Review - North Texas Kids Magazine

Del Castillo - Alex Ruiz - Mina Frannea Review - North Texas Kids Magazine

Another stand out was bassist Albert Besteiro whose personal charm really connected with the audience.

Del Castillo has contributed to the soundtracks of films directed by Robert Rodriguez like Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, Grindhouse, Sin City and Once Upon a Time in Mexico starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp. The band has a great repertoire of original songs available to listen and purchase through the band’s website www.delcastillomusic.com.

One of my favorites from the performance at The Kessler is a soulful, mellow tune called “Castles” which really touched my heart with its uplifting words and melody. You can see Ruiz and the band perform the song in the video below and Ruiz talk about what inspired the origin of “Castles” in this other video.

Ruben V opened for Del Castillo. This vivacious musician started off the night with his tremendous talent and exciting 80’s Rock-n-Roll vibe. Ruben V has earned a couple of new fans who will be eager to see upcoming performances.

Ruben V - Del Castillo Concert - Mina Frannea Review - North Texas Kids Magazine

Another talented musician, Rojas, joined Del Castillo on stage and his acoustic guitar’s special tone resonated nicely with the rest of the band.

Rojas at Del Castillo Concert - Mina Frannea Review - North Texas Kids MagazineRojas later joined in on a guitar duel with Ruben V, Besterio and the Castillo brothers. It was quite the jam session with Mike Zeoli and Jason Murdy throwing in their rhythmic percussion skills!

About midway through the concert, Del Castillo invited audience members to come up on stage to dance with them to “Anybody Wanna”, one of their Latin fusion tunes. A few joined in on stage and the rest of us joined in the Salsa dancing from our seats.

Del Castillo Concert - Mina Frannea Review - North Texas Kids Magazine

My husband and I had a great date night watching Del Castillo in concert. The evening was a rich and joyous blend of cultures, and I don’t recall sitting down much of the night. The band closed to a standing ovation and returned to perform two more songs after fans stood chanting “more, more, more” for a few minutes.

Del Castillo Standing Ovation - Mina Frannea Review - North Texas Kids Magazine

The Kessler is a wonderful, intimate venue for performances so check it out. Del Castillo should be back in Dallas at some point. If you enjoy music with a great cross-cultural flair that will make you want to get up on your feet, go see this band perform. In the mean time you can enjoy more of their work at www.delcastillomusic.com.

 

Mina Frannea Mina Frannea is an online media professional. She is the editor and media director at North Texas Kids Magazine and provides freelance marketing and promotional services for clients all over the country. Mina enjoys the Arts & Entertainment, Sci-Fi, new technology, cooking, enlightening discussions and sharing relevant information.  Want to share your story with Mina or North Texas Kids? Send Mina an Email

 

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1 Comment

  1. George

    Mina,

    Thank you for an accurate yet conservative description of the “Dal Castillo” experience.

    My wife and I were seated center of and next to the stage. We attempt to get there every time this band comes to the Kessler. It is such an incredible combination, the ambiance of the Kessler and the OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES of Del Castillo and those that they are associated with.

    One can not give too much praise to either the venue or the artist! They both are Quality in all that they do.

    Ruben V did a great job of opening the show, one could say that he laid the foundation on which to build the evening’s experience. then at the end when there were (in my opinion) four of the finest guitarist on the planet joined together jamming out!

    How can one begin to describe this event. There are simply no words that can describe it adequately!

    We can only hope that the good folks at the Kessler can and will reassemble these same artist another time for another unforgettable evening.

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