By David O’Neill
Cardiff Castle rarely feels as alive as it did for the inaugural Blackbird Festival, a day that balanced hometown pride with heavyweight rock pedigree, capped by Alter Bridge’s long-overdue Cardiff return.
Another beautiful sunny day in South Wales at the end of a week of record-breaking temperatures gave inspiration to the sellout crowd, the majority of whom attended for three local bands who have been building a huge reputation around the South Wales/ÜK/European rock music scene since the last time Alter Bridge played here in 2019.
From early on, Cardinal Black set a soulful tone, their blues-laced rock landing beautifully in the castle setting. Tracks like ‘Tell Me How It Feels’ and ‘Warm Love’ and where do you go carried real emotional weight, with Tom Hollister’s vocals echoing effortlessly off the ancient stone and adding to the warmth of the day. Accompanied by probably one of the best blues guitarists around in Chris Buck, and his guitar solos crying across the battlements.
The much heavier sound of the gritty Merthyr trio Florence Black followed with a punchier, riff-driven set and power vocals and drumming. With crowd favourites ‘Bed of Nails’ and ‘Rockin Ring’ leading into the ever present ‘Zulu’ and’ Breadfan’ being topped off with the quieter ‘Sun & Moon’ led to a strong response from a rapidly swelling crowd clearly ready for something heavier.
Mammoth brought a slick, modern edge, with Wolfgang Van Halen leading a tight set featuring an opening with ‘The End’ and ‘Another Celebration at the End of the World’ had the crowd rapidly responding to the first appearance (but not likely to be the last) in the Welsh capital. A different version of ‘Stone’ to the recorded one gave an unusual twist and ‘Don’t Back Down’ completed the set.
It was polished yet earnest performance from one of the rock family dynasties and earned one of the day’s biggest receptions thus far.
Skindred, as ever, adding to their burgeoning reputation and fanbase over the past few years turned the atmosphere into a party. Entering the stage in a long silver and black overcoat with white fur collar and cuffs Benji Webbe is never understated!
Opening up with ‘This is the Sound’ and ‘Set Fazers’, it wasn’t long before those who had never seen Skindred before were soon converted. ‘Pressure’ and ‘That’s My jam’ along with Benji’s inimitable personality had the audience literally bouncing. By the time ’Kill the Power’, and ‘Gimme That Boom’ struck the audience were more than ready for the take off of the Newport Helicopter during ‘Warning’.
It is a sight to behold… 10,000 fans, new and old, swirling their T-shirts over their heads with enough speed that that the downdraft almost led to lift off! Benji Webbe commanded every inch of the stage. The Newport heroes felt perfectly placed on this bill, bridging the gap between festival fun and hard rock intensity.
Then came Alter Bridge. Opening with ‘Silent Divide’ and powering through staples like ‘Addicted to Pain’, and ‘Cry of Achilles’, it would have been remiss not to do ‘Fortress’ in a Welsh Castle.
Myles Kennedy was in phenomenal voice, but the standout moment came mid-set as he led the entire crowd in a heartfelt ‘Happy Birthday’ to a young woman on the barrier — a genuinely touching pause in an otherwise thunderous performance. Providing videos from many of their previous tours added to the failing light as did the projection of a purple background and the Word ‘Blackbird’ onto the castle battlements. The window bars just below even looked like it could be a Roman numeral III, adding to the possibility of future such endeavours.
There was no way this was a one man show: Mark Tremonti was imperious on guitar as he always is, and he always makes his incredible playing look so easy. Scott Phillips is an absolute monster on the drums and is superbly supported by Brian Marshall who looked ice cool on bass despite the summer heat.
‘Broken Wings’ and ‘Watch Over You’ gave Myles his opportunity for his vocal prowess (which is never denied by this fan). As always the latter brings a lump to my throat as I’m sure it does to others who have lost significant relatives. The track that my youngest son introduced me to Alter Bridge with, ‘Metalingus’, could always be on my setlist ended the main set.
Returning to the stage in a Welsh football jersey Myles ensured a rapturous reception and there was no way ‘Blackbird’ could be omitted from the set in a festival given its name. Firing on all cylinders the band finished with ‘Isolation’ another real banger, the band reminded Cardiff exactly why they’ve been missed since 2019.
Behind the scenes, the success of Blackbird Festival owes a huge debt to manager Tim Tournier, whose work in bringing this event to life clearly paid off. Judging by the atmosphere, turnout and performances, this feels less like a one-off and more like the start of something Cardiff, and Alter Bridge, can truly claim as their own.
- All photos © Bandtogs/Über Röck 2026.