Cardinal Black Plays With Fire in Omaha!

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Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming

Welsh blues-rockers Cardinal Black finished out the Playing with Fire series at the Slowdown in Omaha this past weekend and it was amazing!

Cardinal Black's first-ever U.S. headline tour packed clubs across the country and their NYC date sold out so quickly they had to upgrade to the larger Gramercy Theatre. The tour followed their new album Midnight at the Valencia, released in May via Thirty Tigers — a record that captures a group hitting its stride after years of quiet persistence and creative evolution.

Over the last few years Cardinal Black has shared the stage with legends like Peter Frampton, Myles Kennedy, and Joe Bonamossa. Cardinal Black guitarist Chris Buck has collected many accolades with Guitarist magazine naming him "Best New Guitarist" and Total Guitar magazine donning Chris "One of the Greatest Guitar Players in the World". That's a lot of hype to live up to, but the Omaha crowd was roaring and ready to go by the time Cardinal Black hit the stage.

The band stepped out to loud cheers and hollers before breaking into an uptempo blues number. Chris Buck and lead singer Tom Hollister harmonized really well as the guitars and keys swirled through the air. The mostly over-50 crowd swayed to the beat as Tom crooned out his soulful lyrics. There was a pretty decent turnout especially considering the Omaha heat had everyone cooking most of the day with temperatures edging towards the triple digits.

I was super impressed with Cardinal Black's sound and their ability to jam without getting too far off the beaten path. Over the next hour our ears were treated to a buffet of blues, rock, and soul! I know it was a long trip for the gents from Wales, but if they make it back for another U.S. run Cardinal Black is definitely a band to consider checking out. You can listen to Cardinal Black's newest album Midnight at the Valencia wherever you stream music.

Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!