Live Review: When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich
29th April 2023
Support: Arielle
Words & Photos: Tom Atkin
You can tell that When Rivers meet are some what local heroes, the turn out for the second night of their Breaker of Chains tour is at capacity.
Opening up the night is New Jersey’s very own Arielle. The Norwich crowd welcoming the folk rock stars songs as if she was the main attraction of the night. Starting her set with the title track from her new Album ‘73’, waking the crowd up with the beautiful sounds from her guitar.
Arielle had a well packed set, pulling songs from across all her releases, including 'Somewhere Slow' and 'The Way You Look'. Clearly the crowd were loving each one of them, and even enjoying the speeches in between about the guitars she is playing. Each one of them is named differently with a story behind them.
Arielle’s performance really was spot on tonight, with what felt like a head line set. She was the perfect person to set up for When Rivers Meet.
The last time When Rivers Meet graced Norwich, It was just upstairs in the Waterfront Studio, A much smaller area, and it is safe to say the upgrade to the main Waterfront stage was definitely the best move. There is not much room to move in Norwich’s finest venue. Looking around, you have such a varied crowd, from the older generation metal heads to thorough punks, the age gaps are just as varied. This says everything about the Norfolk/Suffolk duo’s fan base.
Norwich seems to have been waiting for this moment for some time, roaring as the lights dipped for When Rivers Meet to arrive on stage. Just moments later Grace Bonds voice is tearing throughout the venue. This tour is in support of their upcoming June release, 'Aces Are High', so naturally they opened with the new single Play My Game. Aaron’s guitar work sounding, if anything, better than the recorded version of the song.
The majority of the set was comprised of songs from previous albums We Fly Free and Saving Grace. 2020’s 'Did I Break The Law' went down a treat with the Norwich crowd, voices at peak volume that have obviously been waiting for When Rivers Meet to return to the city.
When Rivers Meet grew their fan base massively during the lockdowns, with online performances that just led them to build on an already good crowd, seeing them back on the stage is a great thing. The chemistry of this husband and wife duo is rarely seen in music these days. Both of them feeding off of each others energy.
With three albums under their belt, the selection of songs to pick from for the set is pretty vast, belting out 'I Will Fight', 'Do You Remember My Name' and 'Battleground'. There is not a single person in the crowd that isn't thoroughly enjoying their performance tonight.
When Rivers Meet are an independent artist that put everything they can into their music, and it really shows. After they finished, the crowd chanted for more. Coming back on for three more songs before closing out the night.
Afterwards they then came out and greeted any fan that wanted to speak to them. The tour continues throughout the UK, and if you get a chance to check them out, I highly recommend it. Recorded, they are brilliant, live they are truly outstanding.
Remaining tour dates:
London, Lafayette - Saturday 6 May 2023
Bristol, Fleece - Thursday 11 May 2023
Birmingham, Asylum - Friday 12 May 2023
Southampton 1865 - Saturday 13 May 2023
Tavistock Wharf - Sunday 14 May 2023
Barnard Castle, The Witham - Friday 19 May 2023
Glasgow, The Garage - Saturday 20 May 2023 F
Newcastle, University Students Union - Sunday 21 May 2023
Nottingham, Rescue Rooms - Thursday 25 May 2023
Bradford, Nightrain -Friday 26 May 2023
Manchester, Academy 3 - Saturday 27 May 2023
All photo credits: Tom Atkin
