With an already encyclopedic knowledge of Celtic music, The Bookends set out on a quest to find the heart of the music of Ireland and Scotland. In the speckled light of stained glass windows, in libraries whose bones creaked with age, The Bookends pored over vellum and parchment pages in the tunebooks of ancient Celtic music masters. In time, they were endowed with ‘the tradition’ – an expression used by traditional players to describe a rarified form of the purest melodious expression. Only then did they draw on rock & roll, classical, world, and folk music to hone their own sound and pen their own compositions – with arrangements that compel even the hardest of metalheads to dance jigs and profess their adoration for The Bookends.
In addition to their own shows and tours, The Bookends have performed as the backing band for multi-platinum international sensation Loreena McKennitt. In 2021 they were headlined in the gold-standard of Canada’s festival scene: the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival. Also in 2021 they began a performance and collaboration relationship with the renowned Stratford Symphony Orchestra and were, fittingly, featured in a book – Just Us Folk – We Shift and Remain, by legendary journalist Jan Vanderhorst. In their 2019 jaunt to Ireland, the group played with artists from several Celtic supergroups, including Lúnasa, Kilfenora Céilí Band and Cherish the Ladies.
The Bookends released their first album, “Chapter One” in 2020. Roots Magazine Canada marveled that The Bookends “think outside the box” in their music and album promotion – crediting them with boosting the local economy during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020. The album has enjoyed airplay on radio and popular podcasts. Their next album is eagerly anticipated, and is set to be released in the fall of 2022.
