Sean Costello was a great talent who left us too soon. After taking the blues world by storm, Costello was found dead of an apparent overdose in his Atlanta hotel room on April 15, 2008, the day before his 29th birthday. After his death, his family confirmed that the troubled artist had suffered from bipolar disorder and established the Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research.
Born in Philadelphia, Costello’s family moved to Atlanta when he was nine. Costello became enamored of blues guitar at an early age and won an open blues guitar competition in Memphis when he was just 14.  He toured and recorded with Susan Tedeschi as a teenager and recorded his first solo album when he was only 17. Among Costello’s album highlights were Cuttin’ In in 2000, Moanin’ For Molasses in 2001 and We Can Get Together in 2008.
In The Magic Shop is a previously unreleased studio album recorded in 2005, produced by Steve Rosenthal. Proceeds from the album will benefit the bipolar research fund established in Costello’s name.  The album gives us another look at a truly gifted talent in his prime. The album is a mix of originals and covers, with Costello’s own “Can’t Let Go,” “Hard Luck Woman,” “I Feel Like I Ain’t Got A Home,”  and “I Went Wrong” among the highlights. Costello’s band on the album featured Paul Linden (who also co-wrote a couple of the originals) on keyboards, Melvin Zachery on bass and Ray Hangen on drums.
In The Magic Shop is one last gift from a talented shooting star who flared out much too soon.
Audio Stream: Sean Costello, “Hard Luck Woman”[audio: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7770435/03%20Hard%20Luck%20Woman.mp3]
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.