NAME:
Cardinal Black
ABOUT
Cardinal Black aren’t here to mess around. Fresh off a show-stealing set at London’s Royal Albert Hall—opening for Peter Frampton, no less—the Welsh-born trio walked offstage to a standing ovation that felt less like polite applause and more like a coronation.
Frontman Tom Hollister, guitar phenom Chris Buck, and drummer Adam Roberts have been through it: false starts, near-misses, solo careers, and even a break-up before their debut ever saw daylight. But when they finally reunited during lockdown, their first single, “Tell Me How It Feels”, shot straight to No.1 on the iTunes Rock Chart, toppling Oasis’ Noel Gallagher. Suddenly, the band that almost wasn’t had something unstoppable on their hands.
Their new album, Midnight at the Valencia, is the sound of three lifers cashing in their “10,000 hours.” Produced by Cyrill Camenzind in Zurich, it brims with grit, grief, and redemption. Hollister’s soulful roar powers songs that cut between intimacy and widescreen drama: the haunted blues of “Keep on Running”, the grief-stricken ache of “Push/Pull”, the defiant uplift of “Need More Time”. And then there’s Buck, whose solos have already earned nods from Slash and Joe Satriani—equal parts fire and finesse, every note loaded.
For Hollister, music was plan B after a rugby career ended in a near-fatal crash. For Buck, it was a legacy handed down by his guitar-obsessed father. For Roberts, groove was practically in the DNA. Together, they’ve fought their way through wedding gigs, dive bars, and brushes with stardom to finally land here: a band with stories to tell and the songs to back them up.
Midnight at the Valencia isn’t just an album—it’s Cardinal Black’s victory lap, and their opening salvo. The 2025 tour takes in the sights of North America, coast-to-coast, before returning home for dates nationwide around the UK and Europe.
ExpandFrontman Tom Hollister, guitar phenom Chris Buck, and drummer Adam Roberts have been through it: false starts, near-misses, solo careers, and even a break-up before their debut ever saw daylight. But when they finally reunited during lockdown, their first single, “Tell Me How It Feels”, shot straight to No.1 on the iTunes Rock Chart, toppling Oasis’ Noel Gallagher. Suddenly, the band that almost wasn’t had something unstoppable on their hands.
Their new album, Midnight at the Valencia, is the sound of three lifers cashing in their “10,000 hours.” Produced by Cyrill Camenzind in Zurich, it brims with grit, grief, and redemption. Hollister’s soulful roar powers songs that cut between intimacy and widescreen drama: the haunted blues of “Keep on Running”, the grief-stricken ache of “Push/Pull”, the defiant uplift of “Need More Time”. And then there’s Buck, whose solos have already earned nods from Slash and Joe Satriani—equal parts fire and finesse, every note loaded.
For Hollister, music was plan B after a rugby career ended in a near-fatal crash. For Buck, it was a legacy handed down by his guitar-obsessed father. For Roberts, groove was practically in the DNA. Together, they’ve fought their way through wedding gigs, dive bars, and brushes with stardom to finally land here: a band with stories to tell and the songs to back them up.
Midnight at the Valencia isn’t just an album—it’s Cardinal Black’s victory lap, and their opening salvo. The 2025 tour takes in the sights of North America, coast-to-coast, before returning home for dates nationwide around the UK and Europe.
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