The Norwich Arts Centre welcomed fellow Norfolk boy Aaron Bond with his wife Grace Bond and James Fox as When Rivers Meet to a sold-out audience. This was When Rivers Meet at their most distilled, most intense and intentionally stripped-back, analogue-inspired approach for their Rhythm Rust & Static tour.
When Rivers Meet remained exactly what they have always been: Grace & Aaron Bond. They were joined by long-time collaborator James Fox, adding depth and texture through percussion, guitar, and backing vocals. They are truly fully independent artists who manage all aspects of their music publishing and performances.
After London singer songwriter Greene had entertained the packed audience with his acoustic set, When Rivers Meet kicked off with ‘Caught in the Middle’ with Grace on slide guitar and vocals backed by James and Aaron, then ‘I’m Ready for You’ with its great harmonies from Grace & Aaron with powerful lead vocals from Grace. Then another new song with ‘The Tide is Turning’ with powerful vocals from Grace, heavy backing from James on percussion & guitar with very eerie lighting with smoke machines.
Then it was back to 2019 for ‘Kill For Your Love’ which Grace introduced as being about aggressive caring, with Grace on violin. Then onto 2020 with ‘We Fly Free’ with its heavy sound with drums and percussion & guitars in eerie start with Grace’s wailing vocals. Grace enjoys singing going walkabout thru the crowd before back on stage.
Then from the new album we had Aaron on lead vocals on ‘Fatal Attraction’ with Grace on backing vocals, heavy percussion from James and gothic harmonies.
Aaron and Grace reminisced about the Dereham Blues Festival where they had an early break, starting only with a few in the crowd before their music brought an ever-growing crowd enjoying their sound. They next played a song performed at that festival with ‘Free Man’ which after evocative opening kicks into heavy bluesy vibe.
Then back to the new album with ‘The Script’ with Grace on vocals with heavy percussion and harmonies from James & Aaron, followed by ‘Horizon’ a song that started from being somewhere in a massive space which started with a slower mellow start with echoey guitars and bass guitar line with Grace’s passionate and emotive vocals and soaring violin parts fitting the feeling of the song.
Back to 2019 with the next song ‘Like What You See’ with evocative harmonies from Grace & Aaron with wailing guitars and heavy drums, followed by the tribute to Catfish’s Matt Long (who we lost to cancer in late 2024) with ‘Soul Breaker’ with Grace on vocals with rhythmic backing and harmonies with Grace on slide guitar.
The last two songs of the evening were ‘Feeling in My Bones’ with strident Grace vocals to a heavy beat and crowd clapping in time and the powerful and emotive ‘Bring Life’ with the song created by producers James Fox & Adam Bowers with the words about their impending arrival of a baby boy by Grace & Aaron. A very soulful and passionate song about their impending future arrival.
After wild applause they played for an encore ‘My Time is Done’ from the new album with its heavy beat and the classic song ‘I Broke the Law’ with Grace on powerful vocals on this anthemic song.
The gig reflected the smaller, more focused on-stage setup, delivering a huge, immersive sound that put song writing, feel, and connection at the heart of this show.