Rend Collective

A modern praise & worship band founded in Bangor, Northern Ireland, the Rend Collective (formerly known as the Rend Collective Experiment) is exactly what the name says, more a spiritual and creative collective than a band per se, blending praise lyrics with a kind of experimental folk-rock approach. Since debuting in 2010, their albums have been consistent staples of the U.S. and U.K. Christian charts; 2015′s As Family We Go and 2018′s Good News topped both. The Rend Collective continued to enjoy success into the next decade with albums like 2020′s Choose to Worship and 2022′s Whosoever.
Growing out of a group of Christian friends looking for a way to bring spirituality more in line with the complexities and confusions of life in the 21st century, the band, at least when it tours, consists primarily of drummer Gareth Gilkeson, vocalists Will Herron and Chris Llewellyn, percussionist and keyboardist Ali Gilkeson, horn player and accordionist Bridget Herron, and bassist Patrick Thompson.
Recorded mostly in churches and homes, Rend Collective’s debut album, Organic Family Hymnal, appeared in 2010, followed by Homemade Worship by Handmade People in 2012, both released by Kingsway Music. A live set, Soul Survivor & Momentum - Kingdom Come: Live 2012, came out later that year on Integrity Music, which also released Campfire early in 2013. The Art of Celebration, which hit the Billboard 200 Top 15 and U.K. Top 30, arrived in 2014, along with a holiday album, Campfire Christmas, Vol. 1. Their fifth studio album, As Family We Go, was issued in the summer of 2015. The following year, the group released Campfire II: Simplicity, a sequel to their 2013 album.
Rend Collective’s first best-of collection, Build Your Kingdom Here (dubbed a “mixtape” by the band), appeared in 2017. Intended as an elixir to the day’s headlines, the studio album Good News arrived in January 2018. Breaking into the youth market, they issued 2019′s Sparkle. Pop. Rampage. as Rend Co. Kids, following it up a year later with the more adult-oriented Choose to Worship. That same year, the group offered another holiday set in the Celtic-themed A Jolly Irish Christmas, Vol. 2. Their next project, the 2022 studio album Whosoever, continued their soaring blend of folk and anthemic Christian rock. ~ Steve Leggett