The Gladstones are just the latest musical incarnation for a group of long time Commonwealth artists who arrived here in the 60s and 70s. Charlie Pastorfield was a first year UVa student in 1968, having arrived on grounds from the Virgin Islands. Soon he was one of four unemployed musicians looking for a gig when they decided to form a band.
The Skip Castro Band blended, boogie, early R&B and rock ‘n’ roll, and spent the 10 years playing hundreds of dates a year all over the East Coast. The group opened for bands like the Beach Boys, the Kinks and James Brown.
The Gladstones draw their inspiration from the decades of performances they have all experienced. From their early days of sifting through record collections to pick just the right set list, to creating their own original music, Charlie Pastorfield, Bob Girard and the rest of the band have excelled at entertaining Commonwealth audiences for a very long time.
