“It sold out in two hours. The guy called back asking, ‘Who are you guys? How come people have bought every one of your tickets?’” How Chris Buck and his band, Cardinal Black, took their first U.S. show by storm

Being namechecked by Slash and Joe Bonamassa is no mean feat – but for Welsh guitarist Chris Buck, it’s a reflection of the 10,000-plus hours he’s put into his craft.

In 2012, he was invited to play with Slash at the NIA in Birmingham (UK), and in 2017, he was touted as “Best New Guitarist” by MusicRadar. Since then, Buck’s been going from strength to strength – and this year, he’s back with his band’s sophomore release, Midnight At The Valencia.

“It’s surreal," he tells Guitarist, as he reflects on the sheer number of players learning and playing his and his band’s material on social media.

“At every juncture, we’ve been taken aback by how much people seem to enjoy us. We did three U.S. shows last summer, having never been there before. We had zero idea as to whether anyone wanted to see us.

“All we could go off was our Spotify metrics, the people watching my YouTube channel or where merch had been sent. We booked a Nashville venue called The Basement, which holds 150 people.

CARDINAL BLACK live in Nashville 7/15/24 unreleased song - YouTube

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“It being a guitar player’s town, I reckoned there would be a fighting chance we’d get a crowd down. It was all done direct, with no agent or promoter. It was basically me phoning the guy at the venue asking how much and him telling me, ‘Your funeral if it doesn’t work out.’”

Turns out, Buck taking the risk worked out well: “It sold out in two hours,” he divulges. “The guy called back asking, ‘Who the fuck are you guys? I’ve never heard of you. How come people have bought every one of your tickets?’

“I didn’t know what to say. He then suggested we add a matinee slot or move up to the bigger 600-cap sister venue The Basement East. It’s very indicative of our journey in this band. We hope for the best, things go better than expected, and we figure: ‘Let’s keep doing it.’”

For more from Chris Buck, plus new interviews with Joe Bonamassa and Gibson Murphy Lab, pick up your own copy of issue 526 of Guitarist at Magazines Direct.