When Rivers Meet / The Black Prince / Northampton
I’d seen When Rivers Meet a few times before in Nottingham, but following the release of their latest album “Rhythm, Rust and Static” there was no Nottingham date on the album release tour. Still, that gave me an excuse to hit the road and catch them somewhere new ! Tonight we headed down to the excellent Black Prince in Northampton to catch the final night of the tour. A fantastic grass roots venue, voted Northampton’s venue of the year several years running. Great lighting and even better sound, what’s not to love. They have some great upcoming shows, such as Millie Manders and the Shut Up on the 31st OctoberBlack Orchid Empire on 6thNovember – Well worth checking out !
First up in support is an artist totally new to me – Greene.
A singer-songwriter with acoustic guitar, Joe Greene was a real find ! Confident and fully at ease with his audience, it feels more like an ‘evening with’ performance, as he talks with the crowd, not just explaining the songs, but going down frequent rabbit holes lol. The audience really engaged with his laid back style, shouting out comments, making him laugh.
The tracks are all catchy and cover a wide range of subjects, from one about putting things up your nose (lol) to another sad one about friends that had broken up, but hadn’t consulted Greene about it first !
The fun was mixed with the serious, including a wonderful cover of the Danny O’Keefe’s The Road, a song about the hard life on the road – ‘Coffee in the morning, Cocaine all night long…….’ ‘Phone calls long distance, Tell you how you been, You'll forget about the losses, You'll exaggerate the wins’.
He closes the (sadly) far too short set with Shimmy Shimmy which was conceived on the dancefloor in Nottingham’s Stealth / Rescue Rooms, something that rang true for me lol. It’s catchy and fun and has a distinctly blues rock vibe to it.
Greene was a delight. A great songwriter, and an even better entertainer. A fantastic start to the night.
Setlist
(Not Available)
When Rivers Meet are husband and wife team Grace and Aaron Bond, who step through the crowd onto the stage along with drummer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist James Fox. The crowd at the Black Prince is a nice mix of long term fans, many having attended multiple nights on the current tour, and new fans, along for a good night out.
James sat at the back of the set with a smaller than usual drum kit, with a guitar ready on his lap. I’ve never seen anyone, sing, play drums and guitar at the same time, but somehow James manages it !
Tonight’s set is built around the new album “Rhythm, Rust and Static”. Indeed they play the whole album in it’s entirety, and as Grace laments during the set, this is perhaps the last night they will ever do that. Alongside the new material, we go right back to their early roots with a selection of early tracks from 2019’s “The EP. Collection” and their debut album, 2020’s “We Fly Free”.
They start the set with Caught in the Middle from the latest album, an upbeat blues rock number packed with Aaron’s gritty guitar riffs. The chorus has the audience singing along with Grace, her voice filling the room.
When Rivers Meet sit somewhere between gritty blues rock and folk rock, such as on Bring Life also from the new album. The slow mellow guitar tones reverberate round the room as Grace delivers a silky smooth vocal performance, a beautiful and loving track about the birth of their first born son. Horizon brings a country vibe to the set with some slide guitar from Aaron alongside her enchanting vocals. James plays drums with his feet whilst delivering some mellow riffs.
Aaron and Grace interact with the crowd throughout the set. Many are long time fans and the familiarity is easy to spot. In one break Aaron tells us of the weekend they ‘found their sound’, sleeping in the van for a one day festival at a pub, playing outside, and more and more stopped by to listen to them and they both knew it his was it. The next night in their own headline show, Aaron got his pedalboard wet and the PA system failed, proving that life in the music business has as many ups as downs.
Another new favourite from the latest album had to be I’m Ready For You with some downright dirty guitar riffs. It has a heaviness to it which explodes in the chorus sections.
Perhaps my track of the from the new album was My Time Is Done which had a brilliantly dysfunctional quality to it’s country blues rock tone. The guitar sits angular and prominent in the mix, with a kid of steel guitar quality. The lyrics explore the weight of outgrowing a phase of life, or a relationship, and moving on to new horizons and experiences. Its gritty and edgy, and spot on !
Alongside the new material, we go right back to where it all started and the early EP’s with tracks like Kill For Your Love, Free Man and Like What You See, which delivers a raw and sensual sense of the feel and smell of someone special that makes the noise and crowd around you melt away. Powerful stuff and delivered perfectly.
The debut album “We Fly Free” makes an appearance too with the title track, alongside the closing number Did I Break the Law. Both went down a treat with the crowd, with We Fly Free bringing the biggest cheers of the night, and some delightful, dirty and gritty slide guitar work from Aaron. On Did I Break The LawAaron delivers a fantastic fuzzy repeating guitar riff throughout and the track soars, the perfect vehicle for Grace to present her powerful vocals up against.
As well as two great performances, what also struck me was the crowd. There is a real sense of community, and friendship around the room. During his set Greene asked if anyone was here for the first time and he advised them that having been round the country with Grace and Aaron, they were in good hands. And he’s right, during the breaks strangers talking and laughing, it’s great to see at a show.
When Rivers Meet were as incredible as ever, and with Greene in tow they demonstrated in full their talent, passion, and dedication to your craft.
Setlist
Caught in the Middle
I’m Ready For You
The Tide Is Turning
Kill For Your Love
Burning Hell
We Fly Free
Fatal Attraction
Free Man
Preaching Blues
The Script
Fault Line
Horizon
Like What You See
Soul Breaker
Wayside
Uncharted Land
Innocence of Youth
Bring Life
My Time Is Done
Did I Break The law
If you missed out on a show this time round, then don’t worry - When Rivers Meet will be back soon, with a full band on the 11 date “Backbone Tour” planned for late November and early December 2026. Tickets available from the When Rivers Meet website HERE.
