Rawlins Cross on stage at King’s Theatre May 19
Rawlins Cross, one of Canada’s most accomplished and beloved Celtic bands, takes to the stage at King’s Theatre May 19 in a 7:30 p.m. show that’s not to be missed.
The show was all but sold out by May 11 with only a few single seats still available. People were calling as late as Friday looking for seating for groups of four and putting their names on a waiting list in hopes of cancellations, said King’s Theatre manager Janet Larkman.
She had just sold a ticket to a woman from Truro and people are coming up from Halifax for the show. The legendary band was to perform at Casino Nova Scotia on May 17 and at The Astor in Liverpool May 18.
The three Nova Scotia stops for the Newfoundland band are in support of the group’s latest album Rock Steady, a six-song CD released through Groundswell Music in December 2017.
The band was formed in St. John’s in the late 1980s by songwriting brothers Dave Panting (guitar and mandolin) and Geoff Panting (keyboards and accordion) and Ian Mckinnon (highland pipes and tin whistle).
Since then, Rawlins Cross has been at the vanguard of the fusion of Celtic traditional music with the rhythms of rock, pop and worldbeat music. Equally at ease with a soulful Highland Air (Macpherson’s Lament) or a raucous party song (Colleen, Reel ‘n’ Roll, Rock Steady), Rawlins Cross never fails to electrify its faithful fans. Over its nearly 30 year run, Rawlins Cross has always been a “fan favourite” on the North American and European concert and festival circuits.
Rock Steady was co-produced by Jon Landry and Geoff Panting. The collection of new songs along with a string of successful festival performances, has added some spring to the step of this venerable East Coast act.
No Doubts
Larkman had no doubts about filling seats.
“It says, first of all, that Rawlins Cross is an amazing band that is legendary in Canada, has a deep and loyal following,” she said. “And people are so excited to see them in Annapolis Royal again. The phone started ringing for Rawlins as soon as the tickets went on sale, so we knew it was going to be a sold out show and we’re very excited.”
But it also shows that people are paying attention to the programming at King’s Theatre.
“We are seeing people coming from all over the province,” she said. “I just sold a ticket a minute ago to a woman from Truro, and this is happening all the time. People are coming from Halifax, the South Shore, from Yarmouth – from all over. It’s really exciting. People are following our website and are checking out our programming.”
The theatre just launched its 2018 brochure with some notable live shows over the next few months – including Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies fame on July 7, and the Jim Cuddy Trio on Sept. 25.
“We’re really blessed that we have opportunities to bring in some of these legendary Canadian performers, and when opportunities like this come up we grab them,” Larkman. “We know that people are going to come to see them.”
Larkman said the Steven Page tickets are on sale now. Jim Cuddy tickets are going to go on sale in the future but the launch date has not yet been set.
“We’ll be posting it on our website as soon as we know and communicating through our weekly newsletter,” she said.
As for Rawlins Cross, Larkman knows the King’s Theatre audience May 19 won’t be disappointed. With the old songs and new material from Rock Steady, they’ll leave satisfied with a high-energy Celtic fix.
Tickets
Tickets are $35, $32 for members, and $12 for youth.
Goto: www.kingstheatre.ca Phone: 902-532-7704