Cardinal Black are a new band with an unexpectedly old heritage. I knew guitarist Chris Buck, from his work as an exceptionally talented guitarist in Buck and Evans, one of the most interesting of the new generation of blues-rock bands, but hadn’t been aware of his part in an act called the Tom Hollister Trio. Over a decade ago they were even taken under the wing of the legendary Alan Niven and flown to the USA and but split before recording an album, only to re-emerge during lockdown with an expanded line up and a new name.

Allied to my interest in Chris Buck’s work, I’d heard rave reviews from whose views I respect who’d seen them support Myles Kennedy and The Struts, so I was keen to catch their debut London headline show as part of an extensive tour.

My first thought was I had missed out on something big happening: I’d feared the Garage would be too large a venue, but it was at least three quarters full and not only with the usual suspects of 40 and 50 somethings. This was all the more remarkable for a band whose first release ‘January Came Close’ is still a few weeks away.

There was a fellow South Walian support in Laura Evans. The singer – who some of the audience may have remembered playing singer Madison in the (non-original!) Basil Brush Show – has a pleasant voice which was pushed to the forefront, as she was accompanied only by a low-key guitarist in Joe Coombes.

Opening with ‘Solo’ and ‘Fire with Fire’, she mentioned she drew on a variety of musical inspirations including country influences which were on view in her cover of Chris Stapleton’s ‘Arkansas’, while ‘Fool’ was one of those bluesy and soulful torch style numbers. I found myself impressed with the songwriting qualities of ‘Gone’ and ‘State of Mind’, and after ‘I’m Alright’ closed with a snatch of audience participation, her short set was definitely enough to whet the appetite for her headline shows with a full band next year.

From the moment Cardinal Black came on those qualities of Tom Hollister I’d been told about shone through. He has a casual manner, bearded, bespectacled and flat capped, but an arrestingly rich and velvety soulful voice that is a gift only a select few are blessed with. Comparisons come more naturally to the likes of Terence Trent D’Arby and Andrew Roachford than names more frequently banded about when rock vocalists are discussed. world.

The first few numbers, opening with ‘Rise Up’ were quite up tempo but with crisp and concise closing solos from Chris. Already expanded to a five piece with the addition of a keyboardist who added colour in a low-key way, a fresh dimension was added when female singer Tay Cousins joined for ‘Jump In’ and stayed for the rest of the set to give the vocal arrangements an even fuller feel.

However a dominant tone was set as the night wore on of slower epics, with longer solos from Chris, showing a wonderful yet effortless feel. These included ‘Ain’t My Time’, a mix of blues and gospel, ‘In My Head’ and ‘On My Own’ (dedicated to Tom’s son). ‘I Don’t Care’ shared the slow tempo but had a rockier feel and boasted a particularly tasty Chris solo.

The set included the odd number from their Tom Hollister Trio days and the banter, particularly between Tom and Chris reflected their long friendship and added to the feel good atmosphere of the occasion.

‘Warm Love’ got an especially good crowd reception and the more up tempo ‘Where Did You Go’ had people dancing before the set ended in fine style with ‘Tell Me How it Feels’ – the massed vocals on the chorus giving it a gospel feel.

There were a pair of encores in ‘I’m Ready’, which also had a gospel vibe but moved into a faster second movement with a big vocal finale from Tom, and ‘Tied Up in Blue’, a slow blues with a predictably excellent solo and Tom showing off at the end, his voice powerful enough to carry without the aid of microphone.

Impressively for a new band they played for a marathon hour and 40 minutes without recourse to covers. While a mix of soul, rock, gospel and blues might not quite be my first choice of musical taste, the buzz building around them is fully justified as they created some very special music.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 24 March 2025

HARRI LARKIN Too Close To The Sun (Robot Distro)
SANDNESS Not Your Dog (Rockshots Records)
DOCTOR BLACK Drag Me Down (indie)
COHEED AND CAMBRIA Goodbye Sunshine (Virgin Music Group)
LEONI JANE KENNEDY Closer (indie)
SMALL TOWN POLITICS Red Lights (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 24 March 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

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