The Vision Becomes Reality as Ivan Castro Headlines MOMENTS
Meet Ivan Castro
Ivan Castro’s musical journey began with a cheap, battery-powered piano that his aunt gifted him when he was twelve-years-old. It sat under his bed for months until boredom struck and the keyboard finally emerged, played from the privacy of his bedroom with headphones plugged in.
A few decades later, Ivan Castro has roughly 400,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Castro is a musician and singer from Long Beach, Calif., and he has a twofold mission in his music: to glorify God, and to mimic His divine artistry.
On March 6 and 7, Castro will be headlining two consecutive shows for OC Artist Collective's MOMENTS with support from Nadège Nightingale and Rylee Orr. It’ll be his first time performing live, a milestone that’s been a long time coming.
“My mission as an artist first and foremost is to bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ. After that, it’s to create music that is genuinely touched by the hand of God,” said Castro. “If God is a creator of creativity, if God is a creator of music and of art – then the art that’s created for him should be better than anything else possible in the world.”
Castro is passionate about elevating Christian art, and started recording music with the intention of creating the type of worship songs that he genuinely would have enjoyed listening to as a youth.
So Castro doesn’t just want to make music; he wants to make great music. And above all, he wants to honor the ultimate artist, God.
Ivan’s Story
Castro was in middle-school when his parents came to Christ and started attending church regularly. With this religious transition came another shift: no more secular music. From then on, it was only worship music and Christian radio stations.
“I was forced to listen to Christian music on the radio, and ninety-nine percent of it, I was not into and I was not feeling it,” said Castro. “I was just like okay – I feel like this could be so much better, but it’s not.”
This discontent was a major contributor to Castro’s indie folk style of music. He wanted to move away from the traditional Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) genre, particularly attentive to the quality of music he was putting out.
As Castro experimented with musical instruments, he became fairly adept at playing piano by ear – but it wasn’t until he graduated from high-school and took an introduction to guitar course that his passion for music truly sparked. And he didn’t just like it – he had the talent.
“Any instrument I touched, or even like learning to produce, it just clicked in my head. It just made sense,” said Castro. “And so, I started praying, asking God, is this a gift? Is this something that I should take more seriously?”
Over the course of several months, God confirmed to Castro that music was not only a gift, but also something that Castro should be seriously pursuing.
“It took years of learning, seeing, and practicing and producing and doing everything on my own before I felt like – okay, now I wrote a song that I’m so happy with, and content with it, I can release it,” said Castro.
Castro was hesitant to perform his own original music, but he regularly played in the worship band at his church. On one Sunday after a service, Castro was approached by a member of the congregation who expressed profound awe in Castro’s musical capabilities.
“He was like, ‘if you use your gifts for the Lord, if you put out music and you pursue that’, he was like, ‘I could see you in stadiums, and I could see you, your voice and just your heart is going to touch people all over the world,’” recounted Castro. “‘God’s just going to be able to use you in ways like never before.’”
The encounter inspired him, and not long after, he released his debut demo, “Every Word.” As a self-described perfectionist he didn’t want to release anything less than great, but Castro made peace with the fact that the song would be used for God’s glory.
“I didn’t want to feel like I spent hours and hours and hours putting something together for it to just kind of flop,” said Castro, laughing a little. “And it did.”
With about fifty followers on Instagram at the time, Castro’s demo only received a few dozen listens. It wasn’t the start he’d anticipated. So Castro stepped back from music, believing that a standard 9-to-5 was a more practical way to support his family.
But Castro’s resolve to step away from music lasted about three months. After experiencing a nearly fatal car accident at the end of December 2024, Castro committed to releasing a song every single month of 2025.
“It potentially could have killed me,” said Castro when recounting the accident. “And thankfully, no one else was injured except me – and the car I was in got totaled – but I walked away with a broken pinky finger.”
The second that the shock of the accident wore off, only one thought came to mind: he could have died, and he hadn’t lived out his calling.
In May 2025, his first release – the same one that had been such an initial disappointment – unexpectedly went viral on TikTok, allowing Castro to quit his job and pursue music full-time. The experience of his failed demo release was entirely redeemed.
The visibility garnered online led to millions of streams and label interest – but Castro chose to remain independent, relying on streaming royalties to support his family.
“Within a year, God just completely turned my life around. It just took that obedience,” said Castro. “That radical obedience and that shift of changing where my heart was.”
This radical obedience has culminated in where Castro is now.
The upcoming MOMENTS show is reality finally lining up with the dream for Castro. It’s a representation of the vision that God first showed him five years ago.
As for where he’s going? Castro’s most recent EP release was December 26, 2025, but he has plans to release his first full length album in 2026.
“I won’t hold back,” said Castro. “It’ll be big. Whether it’s this album or a future album, I want to create the best album to ever be created.”
For more information on Ivan Castro, visit ivancastro.org or check out his music on Spotify or Apple Music.
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ABOUT OC ARTIST COLLECTIVE
OCAC was founded in January 2024 by Gem Ceniza, Miles, and Emmeline Pennell with a bold vision: to create a space where artists could not only grow but also achieve professional success. From its roots as a community-driven collective, OCAC quickly evolved into a dual-purpose organization—a launchpad for musicians and a powerhouse event producer. With artist development programs like Song Club and marquee events like Moments and The Big Show, OCAC has become a beacon for musicians seeking both creative development and professional recognition.
ABOUT MOMENTS
Moments is a live music experience presented by OC Artist Collective, designed to give audiences the chance to experience a genuine, intimate moment with an artist. Each gathering is thoughtfully crafted to feel personal and immersive — more than a concert, but a shared experience. Through intentional storytelling, stripped-back performances, and meaningful connection, Moments creates space for artists to be fully seen and heard while cultivating a welcoming creative community.
Upcoming Show: Ivan Castro with Nadège Nightingale and Rylee Orr
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