Performances
Blues Concert w/ Jake Kulak Band, Tommy Castro & James Montgomery
Join us for our annual Blues Festival Concert! Join us as we welcome back Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals and welcome in featured guest Tommy Castro.
The event promises an unforgettable evening of soulful blues music featuring the award-winning Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals, with special guest performance by the acclaimed and award winning blues musician Tommy Castro. Special Guests include James Montgomery.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2026
Our Blues Winter Concert features Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals, winner of the 2019 Foxwoods Resort Casino "Battle of the Bands" and features special guests
Featuring multiple award-winning, California-based blues and rock sensation Tommy Castro. Tommy Castro is an American blues, R&B, and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid-1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and international touring. His popularity was marked by his winning the 2008 Blues Music Award for Entertainer of the Year.
Doors Open at 8 p.m. | Concert starts at 8:30 p.m.
TICKETS:
*EventBrite ticketing fees additional
Cash Bar | 21+ Event
TASTING ROOM: Bourbon and Beer Sampling in our Tasting Lounge beginning at 7 p.m. Beer Sampling by Lawson's Finest Liquids. (included in your ticket price)
BAR opens at 7 p.m.
PARKING: Limited self public parking at the Shore. Free valet parking available.
DINNER RESERVATIONS: Secure dinner before the show in The Wharf Restaurant >> reserve online.
The Wing Agency artists include The Jake Kulak Band.
This event is sponsored in part by Lawson's Finest Liquids and Brescome and Barton.
ABOUT TOMMY CASTRO
Tommy has a brand new release to promote, “Closer To The Bone” is the most unvarnished, straight-ahead blues release of Tommy’s career. Produced by famed guitarist/producer Christoffer “Kid” Andersen, the record finds Castro at the top of his game, bristling with dynamic energy and raw emotion on a set of both new, original songs and inspired versions of songs by Ray Charles, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Brownie McGhee and more. Guest artists include Andersen, Rick Estrin, Billy Branch, Deanna Bogart, Jim Pugh and The Sons Of The Soul Revivers. Official release date Feb 7.
BLUES FESTIVAL WEEKEND
Don't let the music stop! Make it a full Blues Festival Weekend starting with the soulful Mardi Gras Inspired Blues Epicurean Dinner featuring Paul Gabriel (Friday, 2/20), and wrap it all up at the Blues Brunch with Ramblin' Dan Stevens. Reservations for Blues Brunch open February 1, 2026.
Don't just visit—stay and immerse yourself in the Blues! Check in on Friday and make it a full Blues Festival Weekend starting with the soulful Mardi Gras Inspired Blues Epicurean Dinner featuring Paul Gabriel (Friday, 2/20), and wrap it all up at the Blues Brunch with Ramblin' Dan Stevens. Check Room Availability Here.
ABOUT THE BAND: Jake Kulak Band
The Jake Kulak Band brings their blend of modern and traditional guitar-driven blues and blues-rock to music lovers everywhere. The band represented CT for 4 years at the International Blues Challenge Youth Showcase in Memphis, TN. In 2018 they won the CT Blues Society Band Competition and performed at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2019. They have also been nominated for a New England Music Award in the "Best New Act of the Year” category and were one of 6 Boston-area bands to win the the House of Blues emerging artist competition. In 2019 the band won the $10,000 Grand Prize at the Foxwoods Resort Casino Battle of the Bands. Jake has spent many summers attending the Pinetop Perkins Masterclass in Guitar held in Clarksdale, MS where he has had the privilege of studying under Bob Margolin. Jake is currently a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
In 2019 the band won the $10,000 Grand Prize at the Foxwoods Resort Casino Battle of the Bands. Jake has spent many summers attending the Pinetop Perkins Masterclass in Guitar held in Clarksdale, MS where he has had the privilege of studying under Bob Margolin. Jake is currently a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Jake Kulak picked up a guitar at age 11 and instinctively knew what to do with it. Within a couple of months he was playing at open jams in the CT blues and jazz scene. At age 13 he made the first of many trips to Memphis where he played in clubs on Beale Street as part of the International Blue Challenge Youth Showcase, and to Clarksdale, MS where he attended the Pinetop Perkins Masterclass in Guitar, learning from living blues legends like Bob Margolin. He was also recognized with a merit scholarship by the Honeyboy Edwards Fund for the Blues at the National Blues Museum. Several years later Jake was playing 60+ professional gigs a year, all while still attending High School. Locally he has studied with CT guitar legend Frank Varela and Jake is currently attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he has studied with Thaddeus Hogarth. He can play solo acoustic, solo electric or rock out with his full band.
The band represented CT for 4 years at the International Blues Challenge Youth Showcase in Memphis, TN. In 2018 they won the CT Blues Society Band Competition and performed at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2019. They have also been nominated for a New England Music Award in the "Best New Act of the Year” category and were one of 6 Boston-area bands to win the the House of Blues emerging artist competition.
