Rawlins Cross is a Celtic band that formed in 1988 in Atlantic Canada. With members from Newfoundland,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, the band took its name from an intersection in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Formation and early history

Rawlins Cross was formed in St. John's in the late 1980's by songwriting brothers Dave Panting (guitar and mandolin), Geoff Panting (keyboards and accordion) and Ian McKinnon (highland pipes and tin whistle). They then added drummer Pamela Paton and bassist Lorne Taylor to the band. The band started in the East Coast recording scene in late 1989 with its first Indie recording, ''A Turn of the Wheel'' and a video for the single "Colleen." Weeks after its release, "Colleen" had a top ten radio slot on Toronto's CFNY station. In 1991, Lorne Taylor left the band, with Derek Pelley briefly replacing Taylor on bass. Prior to the recording of their sophomore album, ''Crossing The Border'', Pamela Paton left in late 1991, to be replaced by Tom Roach. Bassist Derek Pelley left in early 1992, and was replaced by Brian Bourne.

Popularity and mainstream success

In 1992, the band released ''Crossing The Border'', which further developed the fusion of highland bagpipes, mandolin and accordion with a rhythm section. A year later, after Rawlins Cross brought in drummer Howie Southwood, the band recorded ''Reel 'n' Roll'', which would be its best-selling album and launch a national radio hit with the title track. Prior to the recording of ''Reel 'n' Roll'', Prince Edward Island singer Joey Kitson joined the band as the new lead singer. Prior to Kitson joining the band, guitarist Dave Panting sang lead vocals for the band on the albums, ''A Turn of the Wheel'' and ''Crossing The Border''. Rawlins Cross released ''Living River'' in 1996, which garnered two Juno Award nominations. The band toured Canada three times that year and signed a licensing deal for its music in Europe. Rawlins Cross performed live on the nationally televised East Coast Music Awards and performed at the ninth annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration Festival in Germany and also represented Canada at the Expo Cumbre de las Americas in Santiago, Chile. Two more albums followed: ''Celtic Instrumentals'' in 1997, a retrospective collection, and the 1998 studio album ''Make It On Time'', which would prove to be the band's last album for more than a decade. Following a six-year hiatus, Rawlins Cross reunited in the fall of 2008 and released its seventh recording, ''Anthology''. In November 2010, they released their eighth album, ''Heart Head Hands''. Their next recording, ''Rock Steady'', was recorded at Codapop Studios (in Halifax, Nova Scotia) and released in December 2017 with the single, "Hold You Tonight".

Style

Rawlins Cross mixed Scottish, Irish, Celtic, and Rock'n'Roll elements. Their style ranged from Celtic-instrumental to blues to folk, always with a strong rhythmic feeling, and combined contemporary song stylings with traditional instrumentation and story elements. The principal songwriters were brothers Dave and Geoff Panting. After vocalist Joey Kitson joined the band in 1993, a number of the songs on the first two CDs, including "Turn Of the Wheel", "MacPherson's Lament", "Colleen" and "Open Road" were recorded again with Kitson singing lead, and released on subsequent recordings.

Band members

* Joey Kitson — lead vocals, harmonica (1993–present) *Dave Panting — mandolin,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, banjo, harmonica,

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

, background vocals, songwriting (1988–present), lead vocals (1988-1993) *Geoff Panting — accordion,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, background vocals, songwriting (1988–present) *Ian McKinnon —

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, ...

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria ...

, bodhran,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, jaw harp (1988–present) *Brian Bourne —

Chapman Stick The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and is used to play bass lines, melody lines ...

, bass, background vocals (1992–present) *Howie Southwood — drums (1993–present)

Former band members

*Pamela Paton — drums (1988-1991) *Lorne Taylor — bass (1988-1991) *Derek Pelley — bass (1991-1992) *Tom Roach — drums (1991-1993)

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

* 1997 Juno Awards ** Nominations *** Best Roots/Traditional Album - '' Living River'' *** Best Album Design - ''Living River'' * 1999

East Coast Music Award The East Coast Music Association is a non-profit association that hosts an annual awards ceremony based in Atlantic Canada for music appreciation on the East Coast of Canada. Its mission is to develop, advance and celebrate East Coast Canadian mus ...

s ** Winner *** Best Roots/Traditional ** Nominations *** Entertainer of the Year *** Best Group of the Year

References

External links

Rawlins Cross
Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlins Cross Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups reestablished in 2008 Musical groups from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian folk rock groups Canadian Celtic music groups Celtic rock groups 1988 establishments in Newfoundland and Labrador