Rawlins Cross Touring Atlantic Canada This Month

The godfathers of Canadian Celtic Rock are celebrating the release of their 11th studio recording with a nine date tour of Atlantic Canada, October 21 – November 5.

Matt Carter

Celtic rock was not born in the 80’s, but that is arguably the decade it took hold as a genre all its own. By then, groups like The Waterboys, Runrig and Wolfstone were putting a new face to Scottish music the same way Ireland’s Moving Hearts and experimental Breton crossover artist Alan Stivell were reinterpreting their country’s centuries old melodies. At the time, it seemed wherever Celtic music had roots deep enough to influence a region, musicians were looking to take the music beyond the kitchens, pubs, and parlours where it had thrived for generations.

Rawlins Cross began fusing the traditional sounds of Atlantic Canadian culture with contemporary influences of their own near the tail end of the 80’s. Inspired by what they heard coming out of the UK as well as what groups like Figgy Duff were doing at home, songwriting brothers Dave Panting (guitar, mandolin, banjo, vocals) and Geoff Panting (keyboards, accordion), along with Ian McKinnon (highland pipes, tin whistle, bodhran), set the wheels in motion for what would eventually become one of the most recognized names in Atlantic Canadian music.

33 years on, Rawlins Cross are still making music. This month the band will be hitting the road for a series of shows throughout the Maritimes in support of their 11th studio recording, Sunrise.

“The music on Sunrise is a collection of great new tunes. The result of our first real in-house effort,” says band member, Dave Panting. “Geoff and I produced, Geoff engineered, and everybody was pitching in on everything, including transportation, logistics and gear setup. I think we are all very excited about how this project turned out.”