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Song

Seen It All Before

Artist 

When Rivers Meet

When Rivers Meet backstory

Husband-and-wife duo Grace Bond (vocals, mandolin, violin) and Aaron Bond (vocals, guitar) have transformed When Rivers Meet into genuine game changers. 

Blending their trademark blues with Americana, folk and rock, the band first burst onto the scene in 2019.

And after growing their audience during lockdown, When Rivers Meet have become award-winning, must-see fixtures on the live scene.

Forthcoming album Aces Are High follows critically acclaimed records We Fly Free (2020) and Saving Grace (2021).

The former peaked at number one in the iTunes Blues Album Chart and the latter hit the top five in the UK Official Albums Download Chart.

When Rivers Meet were the first band to win four awards at the UK Blues Awards in 2021 and added another three gongs the following year.

In 2023, the duo became the first band to bag a third successive Blues Band Of The Year title and are the only band to be inducted into the UK Blues Awards Hall Of Fame for this category.

In 2021 When Rivers Meet were voted Best New Band at Planet Rock’s The Rocks Awards.

The following year the band won Planet Rock’s Blues Power Award and Album Of The Year Award with Saving Grace.

In the band’s own words

“We’ve always stuck to a certain structure to create our songs. 

“But with this song we removed any limitations.

“We consider it to be a unique song from our repertoire and from the new album, Aces Are High.

“Fundamentally we consider ourselves a duo and even though this song has percussion, it features a strong guitar line and vocal hook.

“Alongside fully produced songs, it keeps us rooted as a duo.”

The verdict on Seen It All Before

Seen It All Before? Yes and no.

Of course there’s the trademark weighty, wilful and wonderfully heavy blues that’s made When Rivers Meet the perfect confluence between old and new.

But the bullish third single from new long player Aces Are High boasts added boom for your buck.

Aaron Bond’s scuzzy riffs trade off wife Grace’s throaty thrust to seriously thrilling effect.

And the intense, almost stifling video shoot adds to a sense of simmering, stripped down angst.

Seen It All Before takes British blues rock back to the future as Aaron and Grace make another grab for retro-fuelled greatness.

When Rivers Meet, the magic happens. There’s never been a better time to celebrate the blues.

What’s next for When Rivers Meet

The band heads out on Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping Blues Alive At Sea cruise later this week.

A sold-out show at London’s Islington O2 Academy on September 27 will showcase new album Aces Are High.

When Rivers Meet’s third long player is self-released via the band’s One Road Records label on September 8.

Main image by Rob Blackham