When Rivers Meet formed in 2019, the husband-and-wife duo Grace Bond (vocals, mandolin, violin) and Aaron Bond (vocals, guitar) quickly established themselves on the blues-rock scene, winning multiple awards along the way, including Blues Band Of The Year at the UK Blues Awards 2021 and 2022. The duo have a new album ‘Aces Are High’ set for release later this year. The first taster from the record, ‘Play My Game’, is a definite statement of intent and bodes well for the upcoming album. Please read on for more about When Rivers Meet, the video for the new single, tour dates and plenty more.
Award-winning blues rock duo When Rivers Meet have announced the release of their third album Aces Are High out late summer and available to pre-order now here.
Regarding the forthcoming album the duo say, “As our music is progressing, we’re finding our sound even more. When we went in the studio this time, we’ve never been so sure on what we wanted to create—we had a really clear vision and have stuck to it.
“Before we held back on being too rocky, but this time we allowed ourselves to create what we wanted to hear, without restricting ourselves. We also allowed ourselves to express the different colours to our music with tracks like ‘Golden’ and ‘By Your Side’, so this album has more extremes. We still call upon our influences from all the years but remain true to ourselves to create music we love.”
The pair lay their first hand from the new record with the scorching lead single ‘Play My Game’, a groove-laden, driving blues track with rich riffs and searing vocals. It’s a bold statement of intent with a badass video to boot, capturing a poker game gone south leading to a high-speed car chase and daring aeroplane escape.
Since their formation in 2019, the husband-and-wife duo Grace Bond (vocals, mandolin, violin) and Aaron Bond (vocals, guitar) have been quick to prove themselves one of the most exciting names in British blues rock. Blending Americana, folk, blues and rock in a distinctly unique manner, they have been showered with many awards and accolades.
Their forthcoming album Aces Are High follows two critically acclaimed records: We Fly Free (2020), which reached No.1 in the iTunes Blues Album Chart, and Saving Grace (2021), which charted at No.2 in the UK Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart, No.5 UK Official Album Downloads Chart, and No.6 UK Official Independent Albums Chart.
When Rivers Meet were the first band to win four awards at the UK Blues Awards 2021 and another three awards in 2022, including Blues Band Of The Year on both occasions. In 2021 When Rivers Meet were voted Best New Band at Planet Rock’s The Rocks Awards, and in 2022 won the Blues Power Award and Album Of The Year Award with Saving Grace.
Aces Are High finds the duo returning with a more powerful sound than ever before. Aaron’s gnarled riffs hit harder alongside his deep vocal tones, while Grace’s vocals range wider with tantalising bite as they effortlessly climb scales like her striking slide mandolin which accompanies the likes of ‘Trail To Avalon’.
The immediacy of the new record is showcased from the off with the hard-hitting opener ‘Infected’, while no punches are pulled on the kick-out-time anthem ‘5 Minutes Until Midnight’. Nevertheless its contrasting sides find delicate moments such as the reflective acoustic song ‘Golden’ and the shimmering Americana of ‘By Your Side’.
Full tour dates are listed below and tickets are on sale now at https://whenriversmeet.co.uk
WHEN RIVERS MEET HEADLINE TOUR DATES
April
28th – Colchester, Arts Centre
29th – Norwich, The Waterfront
May
4th – Brighton, Komedia
6th – London, Lafayette
11th – Bristol, The Fleece
12th – Birmingham, Asylum
13th – Southampton, 1865
14th – Tavistock, Wharf
19th – Barnard Castle, The Whitham
20th – Glasgow, The Garage
21st – Newcastle, Newcastle University
25th – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
26th – Bradford, Nightrain
27th – Manchester, Academy 3
FESTIVALS
May
28th – Festival In The Gardens, Braintree
July
1st – Linton Festival, Ross-On-Wye
2nd – Alford Rock and Blues Festival, Alford
7th – Bures Music Festival, Bures
28th – Steelhouse Festival, Ebbw Vale
August
4th – Cambridge Rock Festival, Horseheath
11th – Firestorm (Manchester) Rock Festival, Stockport
17th/22nd – Keeping Blues Alive At Sea III, Athens
October
6th – Cornwall Rocks Festival, Looe
November
12th – Whitby Blues, Rhythm & Rock, Whitby
