Dove Award-nominated Irish worshippers and modern day psalmists Rend Collective release their fourth and highly anticipated album, The Art of Celebration, globally from Integrity Music March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day).
The lead single from The Art of Celebration, “My Lighthouse,” is being offered as an “instant grattrack” download from iTunes with each pre-order of The Art of Celebration. Devotionals for the song, which celebrates God’s brightness in the midst of “troubled seas,” will additionally be created for both YouVersion and BibleGateway.
“Celebration, the practice of joy, is a choice,” says Rend Collective band leader Gareth Gilkeson. “That doesn’t mean it’s always an easy choice to make. We know that we inevitably must navigate storms of sorrow and shadows, disappointment and doubt in this life.”
For the new album, Rend Collective made a recent theological breakthrough as a band that is changing everything about their approach to music and life: seriousness is not a fruit of the spirit, but joy is. The appropriate response to the heightened understanding led to a sonically innovative message on The Art of Celebration.
“This record is an attempt to reflect something of the irrepressible laughter in the heart of God,” continues Gareth. “It’s a call to the cynical to once again choose celebration over condemnation and a reminder to the broken that ‘the joy of the Lord is our strength.’”
In addition to digital and CD formats that will be available wherever great Christian music is sold internationally, The Art of Celebration will be offered as a limited edition, double-album vinyl to be available at select retailers, as well as through IntegrityDirect.com and at Rend events.
Anyone who has experienced the controlled chaos and infectious wildness of a Rend Collective event will know that celebration and joy have always been at the core for these worship artists. Known for pushing artistic boundaries, daring the faithful to re-imagine worship and community, the band will continue its fresh, aesthetic call to worship on a major, 24-city tour in the U.S. with Kari Jobe. During these concerts that begin Feb. 27 and run through April 13, Rend will play new music from The Art of Celebration and raucous favorites from its 5-Star acclaimed albums, Organic Family Hymnal and Homemade Worship by Handmade People, including its hit radio single, “Build Your Kingdom Here” that has been viewed more than 1,812,000 times at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbdJXKqVgtg.
Following the tour with Jobe, Rend will bring its “The Art of Celebration” tour home to Ireland in May along with a tour of the United Kingdom before returning to the U.S. in June. The band is also making plans now to headline a nationwide, 40-city U.S. tour this fall, slated to run Sept. 10 through Nov. 2. Special guests, cities and more will be announced later this year. (For all the latest tour updates, go to http://rendcollective.com/tour/.)
The raw, rootsy, foot-stomping energy of the Irish worshippers, which has been infectious among audiences across the globe, has always been about people and building God’s Kingdom here. Beginning as a group of friends collectively wondering how to make sense of the conundrum of life, God and community, Rend Collective is a nod to the places in Scripture where it says to “rend your hearts” and not your garments, a bold call to be genuine.
More information on Rend Collective can be found at www.rendcollective.com, https://twitter.com/rendcollective and www.facebook.com/rendcollective.