Rend Collective
Northern Irish Christian folk rock band
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Rend Collective (formerly known as Rend Collective Experiment) is a Northern Irish Christian folk rock worship band originating from Bangor, Northern Ireland.[1][2][3] The current lineup consists of Chris Llewellyn, Steve Mitchell, Wil Pearce, Jonathan Chu and Daniel Jones. Their first studio album Organic Family Hymnal was released on 28 September 2010.[4] Their second studio album Homemade Worship by Handmade People was released on 10 January 2012.[5] Both records were released by Kingsway.[2] Their first live album Campfire was released on 29 January 2013[6] with Integrity. Their fourth album, The Art of Celebration, was released on 17 March 2014. Their fifth album, Campfire Christmas, Vol. 1 was released in November 2014, and the sixth, As Family We Go, on 21 August 2015. Their second live album, Campfire II: Simplicity, was released at the beginning of October 2016. In 2017 they released the Build Your Kingdom Here (A Rend Collective Mix Tape) compilation followed by studio album Good News in early 2018. Since then the group have released two more albums Choose to Worship (March 2020) and Whosoever (August 2022).
Rend Collective | |
|---|---|
Rend Collective performing in May 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Bangor, Northern Ireland[1] |
| Genres | Contemporary Christian, Christian rock, folk rock, worship[2] |
| Years active | 2007–present[2] |
| Labels | Kingsway, Integrity,[2] Capitol CMG |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
| Website | rendcollective |
Background
The band was established under the name of Rend Collective Experiment between 2002-2003 during a point which drummer Gareth Gilkeson described as "a bunch of us trying to figure out life. Before the formation, most of the members were part of the "Rend" young adults ministry at Bangor Elim Church to where Gilkeson preached and Llewellyn led worship."[3][7] While the group comprises over 15 members, the band tours and records with 6 members.[3][7] The remaining members are there for support and to encourage the band "spiritually, musically, and missionally."[3][7] They explained noticing a sense of hostility from the modern culture towards the church and Christians therefore sought to create music that would draw such individuals spiritually and encourage them to come back to church.[3][7]
Rend Collective was on the And If Our God Is for Us... Tour with Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockels in the spring of 2011.[1] They toured with Kari Jobe on the Majestic Tour.[8]
In 2014, Rend Collective toured with the RESET Movement, as part of their musical ministry involving Lacey Sturm (formerly of Flyleaf); spoken-word artist Propaganda; worship leader Dave Lubben; DJ Efechto; International House of Prayer worship artist Matt Gilman; and singer/songwriter Morgan Harper Nichols.[9]
Music
Campfire includes live, outdoor recordings of songs previously released on Organic Family Hymnal and Homemade Worship by Handmade People. The audience for the recording were crowd-sourced using Facebook and Twitter.[6] Their third studio album, The Art of Celebration, was released on 17 March 2014.[10] Their fourth studio album, Campfire Christmas (Vol. 1), released 19 November 2014.[11] Their fifth studio album, As Family We Go, was released on 21 August 2015. Their second live album, Campfire II: Simplicity, was released on 7 October 2016.[12] Their sixth studio album, Good News was released on 19 January 2018.[13] Their seventh studio album, Choose to Worship, was released during the COVID-19 pandemic on 27 March 2020.[14] Their eighth studio album, Whosoever, was released 26 August 2022.[15]
Rend Family Records
Their first signee to the label is Urban Rescue, from Los Angeles, California.
Members
- Chris Llewellyn – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, ukulele (2007–present)
- Steve Mitchell – bass guitar, banjo, piano, mandolin, guitar, backing vocals (2013–present)
- Wil Pearce – electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, backing vocals (2021–present)
- Jonathan Chu – fiddle (2020–present)
- Daniel Jones – drums (2024–present)
Former
- Will Herron – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, multi-instrumentalist (2022–2023)
- Bridget Herron – female lead and backing vocals (2022–2023)
- Patrick Thompson – electric guitar, banjo, various strings, backing vocals (2007–2020), bass guitar (2007–2013)
- Bobby Russell – bass guitar, piano (2012–2013)
- Gareth Gilkeson – drums, percussion, band leader (2007–2024)
- Ali Gilkeson – keyboards, female lead/backing vocals, auxiliary percussion, accordion (2007–2022)
- Thomas Ewing – electric guitar, mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, violin (2021–2024); left for his band Tenth Avenue North
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [18] |
UK C&G |
AUS [19] |
CAN [20] |
US [21] |
US Christ. [22] |
US Heat. [23] | |||
| 2010 | Organic Family Hymnal (as Rend Collective Experiment)
|
— | — | — | — | — | 47 | — |
|
| 2012 | Homemade Worship by Handmade People (as Rend Collective Experiment)
|
— | 6 [24] |
— | — | — | 23 | 14 | |
| 2013 | Campfire
|
— | 1 [25] |
— | — | 97 | 7 | — | |
| 2014 | The Art of Celebration
|
28 | 1 [26] |
— | — | 13[27] | 1[28] | — |
|
Campfire Christmas, Vol. 1
|
— | 1 [24] |
— | — | 61 | 4 | — | ||
| 2015 | As Family We Go | 19 | 1 [30] |
— | 21 | 33 | 1 | — | |
| 2016 | Campfire II: Simplicity
|
— | 1 [31] |
— | — | 99 | 3 | — | |
| 2018 | Good News
|
85 | 1 [33] |
97 | 51 | 70 | 1 | — | |
| 2019 | Sparkle. Pop. Rampage. (as Rend Co. Kids)
|
— | 3 [34] |
— | — | — | — | — | |
| 2020 | Choose to Worship
|
— | 1 [35] |
— | — | —[A] | 3 | — | |
| 2020 | A Jolly Irish Christmas (Vol. 2)
|
— | 2 [37] |
— | — | — | — | — | |
| 2022 | Whosoever
|
—[B] | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2025 | Folk!
|
— | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | |
Christmas in Belfast
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Extended plays
- Christmas in Belfast (2025)
Mixtapes
| Album details | Track listing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Build Your Kingdom Here (A Rend Collective Mix Tape)
|
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Christ. [38] |
US Christ. Airplay [39] |
US Christ. AC [40] | ||||
| 2012 | "Second Chance" (as Rend Collective Experiment) |
24 | — | Homemade Worship by Handmade People | ||
| 2013 | "Build Your Kingdom Here" | 12 | 19 | |||
| 2014 | "My Lighthouse" | 17 | 22 | 24 | The Art of Celebration | |
| 2015 | "You Will Never Run" | 19 | 18 | 21 | As Family We Go | |
| 2016 | "Joy of the Lord" | 25 | 21 | 20 | ||
| "Every Giant Will Fall" | — | 40 | — | |||
| 2017 | "Rescuer (Good News)" | 15 | 9 | 20 | Good News | |
| 2018 | "Counting Every Blessing" | 8 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2019 | "Your Name Is Power" | 13 | 7 | 8 | Choose to Worship | |
| "Revival Anthem"[42] | 50 | — | — | |||
| 2020 | "Sing It from the Shackles" | — | — | — | ||
| "I Choose to Worship" | 44 | 37 | — | |||
| "This Is the Saviour's Day" | — | — | — | A Jolly Irish Christmas (Vol. 2) | ||
| "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"[43] | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "My Advocate" | — | 34 | — | Choose to Worship | ||
| 2021 | "Year of Victory" | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 2023 | "Hallelujah Anyway" | — | 4 | — | Whosoever | |
| 2025 | "Fight of My Life" | 35 | 22 | 27 | Folk! | |
Other charted songs
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Christ. [38] |
US Christ. Airplay [39] |
US Christ. AC [40] | |||
| 2025 | "A Christmas Hymn" | 44 | 14 | 6 | Christmas in Belfast |
| "Mary Did You Know" | — | 17 | 14 | ||
EPs
| Album details | Track listing | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Christmas
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Irish
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Jolly
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Hallelujah Anyway
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Folk (pt. 1)
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Awards and nominations
Notes
- Choose to Worship did not enter the Billboard 200, but peaked at No. 22 on the Top Album Sales chart.[36]
- Whosoever did not enter the OCC UK Albums Chart, but peaked at No. 31 on the OCC UK Album Downloads Chart