When Rivers Meet (or WRM) is an English

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in 2016 in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England, by husband-and-wife duo Grace and Aaron Bond. In May 2021 they won four UK Blues Awards, for: Emerging Blues Artist of the Year; Blues Band of the Year; Blues Album of the Year; and Most Inspirational Online Performance of the Year.

History

When Rivers Meet (or WRM) was formed in 2016 by husband and wife Grace and Aaron Bond. They originally lived in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England, and met at

Downham Market Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 ...

, before moving to

Brightlingsea Brightlingsea (, traditionally , , ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the Tendring District, Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, Essex, River Colne, on ...

. When they first met, Grace had been touring festivals with a

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

tribute act A tribute act, tribute band, tribute group or tribute artist is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist ...

, and Aaron Bond had been playing in local rock bands. Before forming When Rivers Meet, they performed as Holmes and Bond, appearing at the Brightlingsea Free Music Festival in 2016. The duo began touring the UK in their VW camper van in 2019, including a performance at the Great British Rock and Blues Festival in

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021 ...

. However, in spring 2020 when the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

hit the UK and restrictions were imposed, they were forced to give up on the tour. Instead they focussed on online engagement and weekly

livestreamed Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- live ...

sessions on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, which proved very popular and exceeded their expectations. In January 2021, Grace Bond told ''ITV News'' the livestreams had "over half a million views from a hundred different countries", which she described as "crazy". Grace Bond reported that during lockdown they had been spent their time "recording, live streaming, filming videos, or working something out online to do in between." When Rivers Meet released their first EP, ''The Uprising'', in April 2019 and a second EP, ''Innocence Of Youth'', in May 2020. In November 2020 they brought out their debut album, ''We Fly Free''. On the album, Grace Bond performed vocals, mandolin and violin; Aaron Bond performed vocals and guitar (including

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

); and the duo were backed by Adam Bowers on bass, drums, organ and piano, and Robin G. Breeze on bass, organ and piano. Adam Bowers also produced the album, at The Boathouse Studio in rural

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. Tracks from their album ''We Fly Free'' were playlisted and featured on the ''

Planet Rock Planet Rock may refer to: * "Planet Rock" (song), a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force ** '' Planet Rock: The Album'', a 1986 album containing the song * Planet Rock (radio station) Planet Rock is a British digital radio sta ...

'' national digital radio station in 2020 and 2021, and the band also received airplay on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

's ''The Rock Show with Johnnie Walker'' and ''The Blues Show with Cerys Matthews'' In March 2021, it was announced that When Rivers Meet would be back on tour supporting the '' King King'' blues band's UK tour, beginning in October 2021.

Reception

In October 2020, Paul H. Birch, writing for RAMzine summed-up his opinion of the band, stating: "Essentially, 4/4 boogie blues with folk rock ambiance, a modern-day female-fronted

Medicine Head Medicine Head were a British blues rock band – initially a duo – active in the 1970s. Their biggest single success was in 1973 with "One and One Is One (song), One and One Is One", which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. The group r ...

perhaps," adding that "One might think that over a series of songs things could get repetitive but there's a compelling intimacy that overcomes that, and it would be interesting where that leads them creatively in the future." Writing about the track "Battleground" in October 2020, Martine Ehrenclou of ''Rock & Blues Muse'' opined that Grace Bond has "a killer voice", with "Aaron providing solid backing vocals and guitar", and "drummer Adam Bowers locking it down", to create "a vintage rock and roll sound with a contemporary twist." In November 2020, Henry Yates in ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' magazine, writing about the album ''We Fly Free'' stated that: "

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...

British husband-and-wife are heavy enough to get your attention and quirky enough to hold it, with songs that give you a kicking but leave a boot-print on your heart." A reviewer at ''Metal Planet Music'' writes in November 2020 that the album ''We Fly Free'' is "a collection of extremely well written songs;" that Grace Bond's singing possesses "great range and clarity"; and that Aaron Bond's guitar work has a "great sound" and that he "knows when to keep it simple, to let the vocal and story shine and when to then let go and give it some. Describing ''We Fly Free'', in May 2021 Adam Kennedy wrote in HRH Magazine: "It's got that old school sound, but with a bit of a contemporary twist," and he sums-up the album by saying: "For blues lovers 'We Fly Free' is a purist's paradise."

Interviews

Accolades and awards

In December 2020, ''Blues Rock Review'' listed ''We Fly Free'' ninth in their Top 20 Albums of 2020. In May 2021, When Rivers Meet won four UKBlues Awards, for: Emerging Blues Artist of the Year; Blues Band of the Year; Blues Album of the Year; and Most Inspirational Online Performance of the Year.

Personal life

Aaron Bond was born in

, England, and Grace Holmes is originally from

Ely, Cambridgeshire Ely ( ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire district, in Cambridgeshire, England, northeast of Cambridge, southeast of Peterborough and from London. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the built-up a ...

. They met at Bond's local pub in Downham Market, where Holmes had just started working as a bar steward, and now live in the coastal town of

, near

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

. They have been together since 2004.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Liberty'' (2017) * ''We Fly Free'' (2020) * ''Saving Grace'' (2021) – No. 84

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

* ''Aces Are High'' (2023) – No. 9 UK Albums Chart * ''Addicted to You'' (2025) – No. 4 UK Albums Chart

Live albums

* ''Flying Free Tour - Live'' (2022) * ''Breaker of Chains Tour - Live'' (2024) * ''Live in London '24'' (2024) * ''Red Rum Duo Tour Tour - Live'' (2024)

Compilations

* ''The EP Collection'' (2020) * ''The Story So Far... Highlights Vol.1'' (2024)

Others

* ''The Boathouse Sessions'' (2022)

Extended plays

* ''The Uprising'' (2019) * ''Innocence of Youth'' (2020)

Singles

* "Christmas Is Here" (2022) * "Play My Game" (2023) * "Golden" (2024) * "Addicted to You" (2025)

References

External links

Official website

When Rivers Meet on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:When Rivers Meet 2016 establishments in England Musical groups established in 2016 English blues rock musical groups English blues musical groups Roots rock music groups Musical groups from Essex