Rawlins Cross ready to reel 'n' roll some more

Rawlins Cross is one of the top groups on the East Coast music scene, with multiple awards and top-selling albums.

But the last few years have seen fewer and fewer shows for the group, as the members have developed their own projects.

Now though, there are plans in the works that could see the band doing a lot more together, and soon.

They have a show Nov. 03 at the Kings Playhouse in Georgetown, and lead singer Joey Kitson, who hails from P.E.I., dropped by CBC Mainstreet to tell Angela Walker about that, and more.

Kitson said they haven't actively searched for bookings for awhile.

"It's maybe once a year, usually springtime, summertime, that we've gotten together to do short little runs maybe a week at a time."

But Kitson then dropped a surprise, by revealing some plans are afoot.

"Every time we get together, we get along great, and we find that a lot of the guys, even though we're not playing in Rawlins Cross, are active musically in other projects, so our chops are in pretty good shape considering our age, although I'm the youngest of the band," he laughed.

Summer festival plans

"We decided maybe we should pursue the following summer being more active, and hitting some of the bigger festivals that we used to do frequently when we were full-time back in the 90s."

To that end, the group is doing some showcases for industry booking agents at the upcoming Music Nova Scotia week in Truro.

That makes their Georgetown concert quite important.

"Our show on the Island is an opportunity to get together, do some rehearsal, and do a warm-up gig, and then do a couple of showcasing opportunities to some buyers from the States, more in the vein of some Celtic or Irish festivals," said Kitson. "We had a lot of success in the past doing those types of things."

Despite its past glories, the band can't simply assume it will get hired. "You have to get back out there and show the folks that are making the decisions that you can still play," he said.

Not in Kansas anymore

Kitson said he had been going through photos and home videos he had of the band in the 90s, when they were playing huge festivals in far-flung places such as Milwaukee and Salinas, Kansas.

"I think it was just around the time Titanic was popular, so people said (mimics heavy midwestern accent), 'You guys sound just like that band from the Ti-tanic.' So they just took to our band and we were brought back the next year and sold lots of CDs and had a great time."

Of course, they hope to do lots of local shows as well, but for a sneak peak, it's Thursday, Nov. 3 at the Kings Playhouse in Georgetown at 7:30 p.m.

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