Originally published in The East on December 2, 2017
By Alex Cook
For nearly thirty years, Rawlins Cross have proven they can hold their fans’ attention. After a seven-year hiatus, the excitement around their newest album, ‘Rock Steady,’ has grown to incomprehensible proportions. That’s not hyperbole either; we’ve seen the numbers, and it has left us wondering, “Who are Rawlins Cross, and where did they get an army?”
Celtic rock is hardly anything new to the east coast. Rather, it’s the opposite. We’ve got a music industry that was founded on the stuff, and it fits almost integrally into our tourism backbone. “Seafood and fiddles,” the brochures might say (though we try not to). Think Natalie Macmaster, Ashley MacIsaac, Shanneyganock, The Irish Descendants, The Rankin Family, The Barra MacNeils, Great Big Sea and, if you hadn’t heard of them before, Rawlins Cross.
Thirty years is a long time to be collecting fans, and the ones that have stuck with them are fervent. A seven year hiatus isn’t going to shake them.
