Castro Coleman
Castro Coleman aka "Mr. Sipp The Mississippi Blues Child" (born August 25, 1976) is an American blues and gospel singer, musician, songwriter and guitarist. He was the 2014 International Blues Challenge winner. Biography. Castro Coleman was born in the small town of McComb, Mississippi, United States, to Jonell and the late Vera Coleman. He is a husband and father of four daughters. He has been around music all of his life. His parents and aunt had a quartet group. He was influenced by B.B. King at the age of six, which is when he started playing the guitar . Coleman started out playing the gospel with The Legendary Williams Brothers, The Canton Spirituals and The Pilgrim Jubilees. He later started his own group The True Believers which launched them in the gospel industry with their album "In This Place". After The True Believers, he started Castro Coleman and Highly Favored which again proved successful in the gospel industry, with television appearances on "Bobby Jones Gospel". Their album "Time Out" gained national attention. In 2012, Coleman decided that he wanted to venture over into the blues genre. He competed in the regional competition in the fall of 2012 and won . He then went to compete in Memphis in January 2013 where he made it to the finals. He went back and won the regional competition in the fall of 2013; won again and was back in Memphis in 2014 to triumph at the International Blues Challenge. On February 1, 2019, Castro and his group, The True Believers released a new album and DVD "Back To The Roots". Awards and endorsements. Coleman has won numerous awards, including: Coleman has over 125 credits listed on AllMusic. Coleman has given workshops for Epiphone He is endorsed by Ernie Ball, Nord, and Humes and  Berg. Other projects. He is on the roster of the Mississippi Arts Commission. He conducts programs in the area schools teaching the young and old about the blues. His latest album "The Mississippi Blues Child" on the Malaco Records Label debuted at No. 6 on the Living Blues Charts and made the Top 50 for the 2015 year. He has been nominated for a Blues Music Award in the category of New Artist Album Debut. He was cast in "Get on Up" as the first guitar player for James Brown, playing the role of Les Buie. In 2018, Coleman opened  his own blues club known as Sipp's Place in Magnolia, Mississippi. The club was working great and the food was delicious. People from all over the world were visiting the club enjoying great live Blues or Gospel shows. Unfortunately he had to close it in November 2019. In 2019, among his blues tours and blues club in Magnolia, Castro Coleman came back to gospel with The True Believers. After a few years, Castro Coleman and The True Believers released "Back to the Roots", recorded live in April 2018 at Prince Of Peace Church, Blytheville, Arkansas. It was released on  February 1, 2019.