When Rivers Meet

This raucous Essex, England-based, husband-and-wife blues-rock duo were formed in 2016 and comprise Grace and Aaron Bond. Since grade school, Grace had built a reputation as a strong singer, ranking Bonnie Raitt as an idol before joining a Meat Loaf tribute act; Aaron had played in various classic rock- and metal-inspired acts, nodding to Guns N’ Roses and Metallica. The pair met in 2005 when Grace started working at a rock-themed pub frequented by Aaron in his hometown of Downham Market, Norfolk. They married and moved to the seaside town of Brightlingsea in Essex. Both continued to perform music, sometimes on separate projects, sometimes together, but in 2016 they began to formulate what would become the When Rivers Meet sound. Grace’s passionate and soulful lead vocal lines and Aaron’s riff-based guitar work suggested mainstream appeal, while Grace’s simultaneous use of a slide resonator mandolin and violin laced their work with an earthy, 1930s Delta blues vibe. 2019 was the year in which the pair started to treat When Rivers Meet as their primary going concern. Both quit their day jobs and purchased a retro VW van, customizing it to act as their tour vehicle. In September, they issued their first release, The Uprising EP, produced by Adam Bowers at Suffolk’s Boathouse studios and using a collection of vintage analog recording equipment. Although it was primarily an early pronouncement of their blues-rock foundation, it also saw them equally at home performing country-pop, as heard on the heartfelt balled “Tomorrow.” The COVID-19 pandemic cut their tour in the U.K. and Europe short, but they spent much of 2020 building a social media presence with weekly live-streaming sets. September 2020 brought a second EP, Innocence of Youth, before their debut album, We Fly Free, appeared that November. Again, both records were produced by Bowers, but the LP had more clearly defined dynamics, and an organic, live sound. To achieve this, Bowers played drums and drafted in Robin G. Breeze for the album sessions, with both auxiliary musicians contributing bass, piano, and Hammond organ. The record generated enough interest to warrant their inaugural releases combined before the end of the year as The EP Collection. After receiving national radio play on specialist blues programs, When Rivers Meet won in four categories at May 2021's UKBlues Awards. They followed this success in November with the release of their second album, Saving Grace, an equally live-sounding but more upbeat record than their debut.
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