If good things come to those who wait…
Cardinal Black are testament to the power of patience, thought and persistence.
A debut #1 single and E.P.; a first gig to a hometown capacity crowd at legendary Cardiff Castle; back-to-back sold out Academy tours with Myles Kennedy, then The Struts; a highly-anticipated debut album, heralded by a live set recording in the Beatles’ iconic Studio Two at Abbey Road in London. An eventful 12 months for any band. It takes years, so the saying goes, to become an overnight success…
Rewind to 2010 and the Welsh-born trio of Tom Hollister, Chris Buck and Adam Roberts were riding a wave of hype, hotly-tipped by some of the biggest names in rock - most notably Steve Winwood who invited the band to record at his own Wincraft Studios. A triumphant live set at Sonisphere was followed by a flight across the Atlantic to begin work on their first record, with veteran manager Alan Niven (Guns N’ Roses) at the helm. The lure of the U.S. proved irresistible to the nascent trio but, as is often the case, the expectations they initially set themselves didn’t mirror their reality and they chose to call time on the band before returning to the U.K.
“We tried to do the acrimonious split; creative differences and all that. We then quickly realised we were fairly reliant on one another,” admits Buck.
In the decade that followed, the lifelong friends cut their own individual paths whilst remaining close. Most notable has been the well-earned rise of guitarist Chris Buck - named in 2019 as ‘Best New Guitarist in the World’ - who has forged a reputation as one of the most inventive and recognisable guitar players in music; winning plaudits from peers and the industry’s most iconic players alike. Drummer Adam Roberts found work as a first-call session player, whilst vocalist Tom Hollister moved into tour management - the three maintaining their musical connection by sporadically meeting up to perform together.
After announcing their return together, in May 2021, with breakout debut single ‘Tell Me How It Feels’, it was less than 24 hours before the track toppled Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds to reach #1 in the iTunes Rock Single Chart. Their 4-track eponymous E.P. quickly followed, also claiming the #1 spot on both the iTunes Rock Album Chart and Amazon Rock Best Sellers Chart. The debut album ‘January Came Close’ was released on October 28th 2022 and within 24 hours it too had also reached #1, this time on UK’s Amazon Album Chart - briefly beating out Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ album to reach the top spot. In August 2023, Cardinal Black were invited by Grammy-nominated U.S. rock guitarist and singer/songwriter Joe
Bonamassa to join his line-up for the 'Keeping The Blues Alive’ Mediterranean rock cruise - alongside Blackberry Smoke, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and others. Peter Frampton’s own invitation followed in November, seeing the band join him on his sold out Farewell UK Tour - including London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Ultimately, between 2023 and 2025, the band embarked on over 100 European, UK & US tour dates including sold out headline shows at The Troubadour in L.A., Basement East in Nashville, Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Greece, Croatia, Wales, Luxembourg, Scotland and the Netherlands.
This year, Cardinal Black will release their new album - marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers / The Orchard - ahead of their return to North America for a nationwide tour in August; a UK tour in October and European tour dates in November.
They may have taken the scenic route, but Cardinal Black are finally here. And they've got plenty of stories to tell…
