Rend Collective's The Art Of Celebration Releases Globally Today!

By Eric Mar 20, 2014 01:16 AM EDT

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 today. Prior to the launch of the 5-Star, critically acclaimed recording, Air1 Radio Network helped introduce the album through an exclusive album stream at www.air1.com. Sirius XM's "The Message" (channel 63) joins in the celebration through a special in-studio St. Patrick's Day performance broadcast today, including air times at 2, 5 and 9 pm EST.

Air1 is also spinning Rend Collective's lead single from The Art of Celebration, "My Lighthouse," which celebrates God's brightness in the midst of "troubled seas." Already No. 14 this week and rapidly climbing on the Billboard Hot AC Chart, the song is simultaneously receiving mainstream airplay in the UK (BBC Radio). The "My Lighthouse" video can also be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPtIv2lnkTY and downloaded as an iTunes "video single" at https://itunes.apple.com/us/music-video/my-lighthouse/id836844495.

Taking "My Lighthouse" and other new songs from The Art of Celebration, along with raucous favorites from its 5-Star acclaimed albums, Organic Family Hymnal, Homemade Worship by Handmade People and Campfire, to audiences across the globe, Rend Collective has caught the attention of K-LOVE. This leading Christian music radio network with a weekly listenership of over 13 million people has announced that Rend Collective is up for "Best Live Show," along with such top touring artists as Switchfoot, NEEDTOBREATHE, Tobymac, Newsboys and For King & Country, during its second annual K-LOVE Fan Awards. The award show is set for Sunday, June 1, with voting opening on May 1 at www.KLoveFanAwards.com.

For Rend Collective's new album, The Art of Celebration, the band made a recent theological breakthrough 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.

"Celebration, the practice of joy, is a choice," says Rend Collective member 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."

"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.'"

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 its current, 24-city tour in the U.S. with Kari Jobe that began Feb. 27 and runs through April 13.

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. (See below for current tour cities, and for all the latest tour updates, go to http://rendcollective.com/tour/.)

While on tour, fans have taken note of the unique Rend Collective-made "instrument of mass celebration" played by Gareth Gilkeson, the "Jingling Johnny." In a special exclusive St. Patrick's Day contest from NewReleaseTuesday.com, fans will have the opportunity to win a miniature Jingling Johnny made by the band, along with autographed copies of The Art of Celebration and other prizes. See www.newreleasetuesday.com for all the details.

The raw, rootsy, foot-stomping energy of the Irish worshippers, partially inspired by the Jingling Johnny, has always been about people and building God's Kingdom here. The video for Rend's hit radio single, "Build Your Kingdom Here," which has been viewed nearly two million times at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbdJXKqVgtg, will be featured in the Outreach, Inc. "Back To Church Sunday" campaign. Founded in 1996, Outreach, Inc. has quickly grown to become the largest provider of church outreach products and services in the world.

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.

Upcoming Rend Collective tour dates follow:

22-Mar	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Columbia, SC	Tickets	RSVP
23-Mar	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Durham, NC		RSVP
25-Mar	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Nashville, TN		RSVP
27-Mar	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Lexington, KY	Tickets	RSVP
28-Mar	Ocean City Convention Center	Ocean City, MD	Tickets	RSVP
1-Apr	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Charlotte, NC	Tickets	RSVP
3-Apr	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Tampa, FL	Tickets	RSVP
4-Apr	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Jacksonville, FL	Tickets	RSVP
5-Apr	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Jackson, MS	Tickets	RSVP
6-Apr	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Louisville, KY	Tickets	RSVP
8-Apr	Majestic Tour - Kari Jobe	Mobile, AL	Tickets	RSVP
14-May	The Art of Celebration Tour	Dublin, Ireland	Tickets	RSVP
15-May	The Art of Celebration Tour	Belfast, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP
16-May	The Art of Celebration Tour	Belfast, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP
17-May	The Art of Celebration Tour	Glasgow, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP
18-May	The Art of Celebration Tour	Manchester, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP
24-May	Big Church Day Out	Steyning, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP
22-Jun	Tim's Toyota Center	Prescott Valley, AZ	Tickets	RSVP
26-Jun	Kings Dominion at Kingswood Stage	Doswell, VA	Tickets	RSVP
27-Jun	Kings Island Timberwolf Amphitheater	Cincinnati, OH		RSVP
1-Aug	Motion Student Conference	Birmingham, AL	Tickets	RSVP
3-Aug	Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove	Asheville, NC		RSVP
4-Aug	Kingdom Bound	Darien Center, NY	Tickets	RSVP
7-Aug	Heritage Landing-Unity Fest	Muskegon, MI		RSVP
8-Aug	St. Joan of Arc Church	Lisle, IL		RSVP
9-Aug	Praise Park	Fort Wayne, IN		RSVP
10-Aug	Indiana State Fairgrounds	Indianapolis, IN		RSVP