It was just over a year ago when I last caught up with Aaron Bond, one-half of When Rivers Meet. After a couple of snags in diary management, we catch up again ahead of the release of the band’s forthcoming album, Addicted To You.
It seems that the gremlins are determined to cause problems for this interview, as the Zoom connection is not great throughout, but we persevere.
Despite looking well, Aaron tells me that he has a recurrence of the cellulitis that he had experienced in early 2024. He is stoic about it but it’s something I’m sure he could do without. “It came back even worse than last time,” he says. “It keeps coming back pretty much every year now, around about the same time and just different, but yeah, I’ve got it under control right now.”
It is a busy month coming up for When Rivers Meet. As well as Addicted To You, they have a small run of dates. “The tour starts on the 23 May, which is the album release date,” Aaron says. “We’ve got full band rehearsals a week before that. We have shows in Glasgow and Nottingham, then on 25 May we’re supporting Blue Öyster Cult at the Palladium. Then we’re at the Brook in Southampton and the Waterfront in Norwich on 29 May. So yeah, it’s a little tour, but it’s gonna be a good one.”
I’m a huge BÖC fan, so we spend a few minutes chatting about the New York legends. Aaron explained that they unsurprisingly jumped at the opportunity to support the band and that he is looking forward to seeing them. “It’s gonna be a real nice thing to do after we’ve done our set,” he says, “to sit back, kick back and sit and watch one of the great bands of all time. So yeah, it’s gonna be great.”
I have spent a few weeks with the new album Addicted To You, and once more, the band have come up with the goods. Plenty of variety across the album, which the band were writing when we last spoke.
When Rivers Meet appeared to be on tour for much of 2024, leaving me to wonder when they fitted the songwriting and recording in. “It was on and off,” Aaron says. “I think that’s what we like to do. We do like to gig. One of our biggest things is just being on stage. That is our home, shall we say.
“It’s where we want to be. Last year was an epic year, and this year is gonna be a pretty epic year. We’ve got a lot of dates again this year. We’ve only got this little, short tour for May, but then have a lot of festivals. Then we have a big tour in the autumn.
“We love doing it. We love performing, and then if we’re not doing that, we’re live streaming as well.”
Aces Are High, their third album, raced into the UK Top Ten in 2023, something that the band were very proud of. With Those Damn Crows hitting the top recently, is Aaron feeling confident that lightning can strike twice?
“I’ve got that here right now,” he laughs, holding up the Top Ten award to the camera. “We’re very proud of it. I think we’re hoping again to get into the Top Ten; cross our fingers, but we’ll see what happens. But once you’ve done it once, it’s like ohh, we need to do it again. It’s a bit addictive.”
When Rivers Meet are proud of their independent status and their hard work ethos extends to every aspect of their work. Aaron tells me that they do keep an eye on pre-sales and Addicted To You is matching sales of Aces Are High.
It is a positive position, and it would be amazing if the band could crack the Top Ten again.
One of the things that stood out on Aces Are High was Aaron taking on more vocal parts than in the earlier albums. I mention that Break Free is one of my favourites on the new album. It features a fine vocal performance by Aaron.
Is it still very much organic how each song develops? “I think it is for me,” he says. “It’s come to a circle to a certain extent because I started off as a singer before I started playing guitar. So to come back to share the front with Grace, even more so now, is massive. It’s where I love to be. It definitely is a progression.”
It cannot be understated that whilst being independent is hard work, it also provides the band with a freedom that other artists may not always have. “We can do what we want,” he explains. “So, every album that we’ve done so far has been a case of where we are at that moment and the sound that we want to produce and what we’re feeling.”
I wonder if Aaron can picture himself where he was when he listens to those earlier albums and how he was developing? “Absolutely,” he says. “I mean, this is one of the greatest things that somebody said to us before: Do you ever go back and think, oh, I should have done this?
“We’re like, no, because that’s where we were at the time, and that’s where the memories were. That’s how it started, and every time we do an album again, you think, that’s where we were right then. So in a way, it’s like a photo album to a certain extent. You look back, and then suddenly, the memories flood out. I think that’s one of the greatest things.”
Unsurprisingly, the new album contains a bit of everything. There are some tender songs, which I would expect, but also some dirty grunge like Preacher. I suspect I know the answer, but does Aaron have a favoured style?
“I love both,” he says. “I love the tender stuff because we get to meld a lot better, with voices and things like that. You get some interesting chords when you’re playing things, for sure. Then, with the riffs, I could riff all day long. I love riffs and I love bluesy things like that.
“Then going into Clapton and things, Page, all the greats, you can just hear some of the elements that come through the influences. They’re all there. So, I love both.”
Last autumn saw Aaron and Grace head out as a duo for a lengthy run of shows across the UK. The set contained over 20 songs, and Aaron tells me that it was a good run. “It was amazing. It really was. It felt like a full circle because that’s how we started as a duo back in 2018-2019.
“Then going from that, coming out of lockdown, we came out as a band. So going back to the duo side of things, it really was up close and personal. It felt very intimate, and it was just amazing.
“It’s just a different beast completely, but we really enjoyed it. It was nice because, when you’re on a big stage, you don’t really see people that much out in front of you. But with that sort of gig, you can see everybody. Then you can just feel the atmosphere, which is so much more intense but really, really cool at the same time.”
They threw in a couple of covers on that tour as well. Was there any disagreement about the choice of songs? “We obviously wanted to throw in a few covers because it’s nice to get a recognisable sound and change it up a little bit as well,” Aaron says. “Some of the biggest influences of ours, like Zeppelin and even going to Elvis and Johnny Cash, we just love to bring in something a little bit different. A little bit more quirky, we say, than it would be as a band.
“So, yeah, it was nice to do that. I don’t think there were ever really any arguments that I can remember. Well, maybe there was one,” he laughs, “Should we do it? We did, and we went for it. We did a bit of a medley. It was going from Ring Of Fire, from Johnny Cash into the Cowboy song, which was Cher and Sonny Bono. I think it really worked. So we were really happy with that.”
We move on to discuss the band’s control over everything, which they must do as part of their independent status, and in particular, the social media side of things, which has ramped up recently in preparation for the album.
“I think one of the things that we’ve realised,” Aaron says, “and this is one of the things about this album, is about being independent. One of the songs that we do has a section where there are a lot of comments. They are negative comments, and that’s what was thrown at us over the years. We all get it as bands. Things like where people are saying, ‘ohh, when you can get a proper job… when you’re gonna do this… stop doing this and all those sort of things.’
“I think it is very much a case of fighting against what you’re expected, necessarily, and what you’re told to do and follow your heart basically. Give it everything you’ve got, but do it yourself because it’s highly possible you can do it.”
Apart from the Palladium, When Rivers Meet will tour as a six-piece for the first time. Aaron tells me more. “We got a whirly player, so that was a main part of this new album, was to get whirly keys. Emily Frances is playing for us. She’s one of the best players in the country.
“She’s phenomenal and she’s on keys for us throughout the year, which is amazing. We wanted to bring in another guitarist as well, so I can step forward a little bit and play a bit more acoustically for a bit more rhythm on that side.
“We’ve got Craig Garrett on lead guitar. So, he’s gonna be chucking in some lead lines and things, but he’s a phenomenal guitarist. We really wanted to change things up a little bit this year, do something a little bit different, bring in the six-piece. Like I say, it is really built all around this new album. So yeah, it’s going to be fun.”
Obviously, I can’t let Aaron get away without asking him about their gig at Chepstow Castle in August, having told Aaron about the special feel that the castle has. “Yeah, we’re really looking forward to it. We’ve heard nothing but good things. Again, you’re reinforcing that. We can’t wait to come up and play that. It’s going to be great.”
As on previous tours, When Rivers Meet are looking to take their shows to new venues. “Yeah, I think that was one of the things we love,” Aaron says. “Obviously, we love playing live and we love discovering new places and coming to different areas.
“We’ve not played Carlisle ever. This is gonna be so cool. We’ve got the Fire Station at Carlisle, and it’s gonna be great, and we’re going back to Aberdeen. We were there on the duo tour, but we’ve not played there as a band. So to go back to Aberdeen, yeah, it’s gonna be cool.
“There are so many places that we can’t wait to get to, and it’s nice to be able to spread out and go to different venues.”
Aaron and the band are gearing up for an incredibly busy few weeks. “Grace is on holiday at the moment,” Aaron tells me. “She’s just having a few days away, just the lull before the storm, and then we’re gonna be fully into band rehearsals the following week. So that’s gonna be really, really cool.
“Then we’ve got a production rehearsal day, but there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff we’ve got to do. Because we do it all ourselves, we gotta make sure that everything is right and everything works really well.
“Then we’re fully into the tour. So yeah, looking forward to it, it’s gonna be fun.”
The band’s production on their Spring tour in 2024 saw them invest a lot in lighting, which made it great for me as a photographer. Aaron tells me that where they can, they will be looking to build on that again this time round.
“We found that some of the places we played, the lighting was phenomenal,” he says. “Some of the places that we had were great. We try and give as much guidance as we can of what we want.
“Some venues haven’t quite got the systems other venues have, but that’s not necessarily a problem. It’s just the way it is. This is the thing with venues. Again, one of the greatest things to be able to do is to go to certain venues that are independent as well, and we’re all in this together. It’s all about the show. So, if we can put on the best show we can, we will. And if we can’t, then obviously, it’s one of those things. But you know, it’s still gonna be a great show.”
As the connection continues to fall off, we agree to call a halt to the interview, with the pledge to pick up a chat at Chepstow Castle in the summer if time allows.
Before then, we can enjoy the release of Addicted To You, which is another fantastic album.
Some of you might catch When Rivers Meet on the road in late May. You will not regret it if you do.
When River Meet release Addicted To You on 23 May 2025, which can be pre-ordered from here. For tour details and tickets, visit WhenRiversMeet.co.uk.
