My new single ‘Enough is Enough’ is now available to stream and download. You can listen to it on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. It’s available to download exclusively on the Bandcamp page as a name-your-price download, meaning you can get it for free in exchange for joining the mailing list or if you’re feeling generous you can part with a few pennies and make a donation to help support the production of future releases. Either way I’ll be really grateful for you taking the time to listen to it and for you sharing it with your friends and family!

You may have already seen that there’s also an official video release (top of this post)  filmed at Crosstown Studios during the recording of the track. It was filmed, directed and edited by local film-maker Andrew Richard Fisher and I’m sure you’ll all agree that he’s done a fantastic job!

I’m really excited about this release and I encourage you guys to get in contact after you’ve given the track a listen. I always enjoy hearing your feedback and interpretations of my songs! So be sure to head over to the Facebook page after you’ve had a listen and share your thoughts!

If you enjoy it please take a second to share it with your friends and family!
Thank you so much for all of your support!

Get your download HERE!

love&peace,
rob x

I’ve been waiting a long time to announce it…my new single, Enough is Enough will be released on Monday (5th March)!

Enough is Enough cover artwork

It’s a stand alone track giving you an idea of the direction in which my music is going. My debut EP, Before the Dawn, which I released last year, consisted mainly of earlier material and so was a reflection of my beginnings as a songwriter. I’ve wanted to showcase some of my newer material for a while now and so whilst I’m still writing for a new EP I thought it would be good to bring you on board with my new sound. My style as a songwriter and performer is always evolving and I find it exciting to share that process with you.

As some of you may already know Enough is Enough was written as an entry for the Liverpool Acoustic Songwriting Challenge which took place back in November. Hosted by Liverpool Acoustic, the competition invited local songwriters to choose a piece of artwork from the View Two Gallery as inspiration for a brand new song.

I was very honoured to receive the audience award for my song with the prize being to professionally record the track at Crosstown Studios in Liverpool. Christmas was a busy time for both myself and the studio and so we arranged to lay down the track at the end of January. Unfortunately I was struck down with the flu in the days leading up to the session and so we had to cut it short. The guys at Crosstown were incredibly patient and kindly sorted a second session for us to finish up the track.

The aim of the studio recording was to capture, as closely as possible, the performance from the Acoustic Challenge Showcase event on November 11th. I feel that it does a great job of reflecting the stripped down, raw style of performance that I deliver at live shows.

The inspiration for the song came from a painting by artist Chiz Turnross. There are some fairly literal references to the painting within the lyrics and there are also some more abstract ideas that came about during the writing process. I always try to write lyrics that are very much open to interpretation, giving people the opportunity to take different things from them.

As of Monday the track will be available to download exclusively via my Bandcamp page. It’s being released as a ‘name-your-price’ download. This means that you’ll have the option to download it for free if you choose! In exchange for a free download of the track you’ll be asked for some details which will be used to add you to the Rob Rivieres mailing list. As a mailing list subscriber you will be kept up to date with all of Rob’s latest announcements as well having the chance to take part in exclusive offers and competitions.

If you’re feeling generous then you can simply name your price! Any money made will go back into producing new music and your support will be truly appreciated! You’ll also be able to stream the track in it’s entirety on Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

Alongside the track will be an official video release. It’s going to be released on Youtube and is made up of studio footage, filmed and editied by Andrew Richard Fisher.

Prior to it’s release I’d just like to say a massive thank you to Jon Lawton (who recorded, produced and mastered the track), and Andrew Richard Fisher for making the video. You both put in a great deal of hard work and I truly appreciate it. I’d also like to thank Georgia Stuart for getting some great studio photographs.

Keep your eyes on the Facebook page in the lead up to Monday for links to the video and download page!

I look forward to sharing the track with you guys!
love&peace,
rob x

This week has been an eventful one to say the least. Firstly I managed to get back in the studio on Wednesday to finish up recording ‘Enough is Enough’ – this is the track with which I won the audience award at the Liverpool Acoustic Songwriting Challenge back in November, consequently giving me some studio time at Crosstown Studios in Liverpool.

I have to say a massive thank you to Jon and Andrew at Crosstown for being so patient and for giving me a second session to finish up the track after the first was cut short with me having the flu. It was great fun and I hope to work with them again sometime soon! I plan to release the ‘Enough is Enough’ fairly soon so keep your eyes on the Facebook page and blog for announcements!

Recording at Crosstown Studios - Photograph by Georgia Stuart

On the very same day disaster struck when my brand new guitar had a run in with a metal lamp. It was one of those moments where things seem to happen in slow motion. One could imagine that this would make it easier to dive in and stop the inevitable from happening but instead it leaves you completely frozen and incapable of reacting. The noise of the crashing lamp hitting the wood of the guitar signalled a snap back to reality as everyone realised what had happened. Looking down at my guitar revealed a rather large crack through the top of the body. I immediately thought the worst, ‘it’s going to be un-repairable’, ‘it’s never going to sound the same’ blah blah blah. My worries soon disappeared by the time I’d finished on the phone with a local luthier.

The next day I drove to his workshop and we assessed the damage. Fortunately the break is repairable and it’s nowhere near as bad as I first thought. PHEW! I couldn’t help being reminded of those lyrics, ‘The first cut is the deepest’ – it sure felt that way at the time but thankfully there’s luthiers and they’re like wizards of the guitar world so by Thursday afternoon I was breathing heavy sighs of relief! I’m pretty sure that song was about broken guitars…on second thoughts, maybe not!

The crazy day that was Wednesday finished up as it began…on a massive high! I got to play a half hour set at the Art.Love.Local acoustic night at The Brink in Liverpool and it was just fantastic. I think it’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever gotten from performing live and for that I have to thank the audience. They were incredibly attentive and listened to every word. It’s so refreshing to play in venues where people really want to hear new music. I love The Brink! Thank you Art.Love.Local for putting me on the line up once again and thank you to James from the James Whitehouse Band for kindly lending me his guitar!

So…by the end of the day the guitar fiasco had thankfully been reduced to a fading memory sandwiched between a fantastic studio experience and a joyous night of music. I’d say overall that made the day a rather happy sandwich!

The week ended on another high at another of my favourite venues…yesterday saw Liverpool Acoustic have it’s third birthday bash at the View Two Gallery on Matthew Street, which I was fortunate enough to have a ten minute slot at alongside Silent Cities, Holly Taymar & Chris Bilton, Ratty Little Fingers and Stephen Langstaff! It was such a great evening with brilliant performances all round. I can’t thank Graham Holland and Stuart Todd at Liverpool Acoustic enough for getting behind my music and giving me so much support and there’s so many local artists that they do the same for, as well as finding the time to promote those acts who visit from further afield. A great deal of my steps into the acoustic community in Liverpool have been aided by these guys and for that I am truly grateful!

* * *

I think the best thing I could take from the events of the past few days is that whatever precautions you take to avoid it, rubbish stuff happens and there’s nothing much you can do about it. If you just accept it and carry on you find that rather quickly great things happen that instantly smother out the crap and you find yourself back with a smile on your face before the day is through =)

Music, good friends and a hug from a loved one are just a few of those great things…be sure to cherish them!

love&peace,
rob x

After playing at Threshold Festival last weekend and finally shaking off a cold I was eager to get back on stage and play some more music for people. Fortunately I was offered a slot at ‘Unplugged at The Sink’ on Thursday. It’s a new acoustic night hosted by singer-songwriter Thom Morecroft and Sian Williams. You can read a little review of their first outing HERE.

It was a lovely night in a great little venue with lots of happy faces and funky wallpaper – you know it’s a great venue when there’s funky wallpaper! It’s a tiny little place with a good atmosphere for acoustic music. At times it felt like I was playing to friends in someone’s living room – that’s the kind of environment I find my music works best in!

Anyway…in the several days between Threshold and this new gig my cold decided it would make a comeback! Incredibly frustrating but it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t play a few songs. Luckily I managed to get through my set without driving everyone away =P however it’s lead me to taking a break from singing for a few days (again!) whilst I try to shake it off properly this time! Fortunately I have a few days before I return to The Brink for Art.Love.Local on the 22^nd Feb.

So whilst I’m not playing I thought it would be a good chance to share some new music with you. It’s always lovely to see new audiences and meet new musicians at shows but it’s also nice to see familiar faces, to play on the same stage as musicians that you’ve crossed paths with before, to make new friends who you can support and watch grow as you too try to make headway in the world of music.

Two artists whom I have bumped into several times at live shows and become friends with since wandering into the Liverpool music community are Simon Maddison (of Silent Cities) and Thom Morecroft. I love discovering new music and so as well as using this blog to keep you up to date with my own songs, sharing them with people as far and wide as I possibly can, I really enjoy being able to use this platform to share music from other artists who I really enjoy listening to. Two things that really draw me to an artist are their lyrics and their voice. I love discovering unusual vocals; really listening to the tone and how creative someone can be with their voice. I think it’s primarily because it’s what drives my own music and it’s something that I’m constantly working to improve and develop. Listening to other vocalists is somewhat of an education for me and it’s always inspiring to hear a fantastic singer-songwriter.

Simon (a.k.a Silent Cities) entered the Liverpool Acoustic Songwriting Challenge alongside myself and around thirteen other songwriters. Whilst I received the audience award he received the Judges award for his song Brother of Fur (video below). He’s a fantastic songwriter and seems to really be making tracks in the music community here. If you haven’t already heard his stuff then you should check it out HERE. If you like what you hear then show him some support; like his Facebook page and let him know! He’s recently put together a full band and is working on creating a fuller sound for his music so if you live in the North West look out for upcoming shows! I’ve not got around to catching a performance with the full array of instruments but I’ve heard only good things!

Thom Morecroft is another artist with a stand out voice! I’m not going to try and describe it because he’s got plenty of videos and tracks up online and I think the best thing you can do is just go and listen to them all! A genuinely lovely guy who as well as playing his own shows amongst writing and recording has begun hosting ‘Unplugged at The Sink’ in order to promote other local artists. Recently he’s begun performing songs with accompaniment from Elle Schillereff (video below), another fantastic voice, who bring fantastic harmonies to Thom’s songs. Again I urge you to go and check out his music…HERE. Go show him some love and like his Facebook page!

Just this week I received a comment on Facebook from a girl called Kathleen in Pennsylvania saying ‘thanks for sharing some great musicians to add to my listening library’. It spurred me on to write this blog. I hope you enjoy listening to these musicians and that this blog had provided you too with some new music to add to your listening libraries.

Remember to support independent music whenever you can – we work hard for the love of doing it! Help build creative communities and share the things you love with those around you =)

love&peace,
rob x

I’d been looking forward to Saturday 11th Feb for a long time…I felt a healthy mixture of excitement and nervousness for a good few days before the date finally arrived. It was of course the day of my performance at Threshold Festival in Liverpool.

Not only did I manage to get myself a slot on the Liverpool Acoustic Stage but I was also asked to co-host the stage. This was a fantastic opportunity for me as a new musician on the Liverpool music scene and I am incredibly grateful to Graham Holland of Liverpool Acoustic for asking me.

The day was one of three over the weekend in which Threshold took place. I believe it’s one of the biggest grass roots indoor festivals in Europe and it overcame some massive hurdles in its second year to even happen at all. After the CUC closed its doors at the start of the year the festival’s usual venue was pulled out from under the organiser’s feet but instead of pulling the plug they pulled together managing to talk lots of different venues within the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool to participate. This created a multi venue event that played host to hundreds of musicians, a great deal of which were up-and-coming unsigned acts. Myself being one of them!

I can’t express how fantastic it felt to be part of such an amazing creative party! Being relatively new to the music community here I felt very privileged and grateful to be added to the line-up. So I’d like to say a big thank you to the organisers, the promoters (especially Liverpool Acoustic) and all the people who made it happen from the volunteers to the sound guys.

The festival itself was great fun, unfortunately I was only able to attend on the Saturday but I made the most of the day and saw as much as I could. I performed my twenty minute set at half two in Elevator Bar and then spent the rest of the afternoon introducing other acts onto the stage alongside Graham Holland. It was a great chance for me to meet lots of other acoustic musicians from the local area and beyond. Everyone was incredibly friendly and it made my role as co-host a very enjoyable one. I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who played and also to everyone who came along to watch. One of my personal highlights was a performance by Canadian singer-songwriter Robert Mulder along with his band – lot’s of energy and very catchy songs! I urge you to go and check out his music if you haven’t already come across it before.

The stage also saw brilliant performances from Dean Elliott, Léon Pearce, Oxtoby, Rob Vincent, The Big I Am, Mary McCombs, Alan O’Hare, James Munro and Hedda Aronssen. So many talented musicians, so many smiling faces, such a fantastic afternoon.

Once the stage had wrapped I got the chance to visit the other venues, art installations and food stalls! It’s safe to say the Baltic Triangle was buzzing with activity. It’s always great to see venues full of happy people so it seems fitting that the rest of the night was spent in the Nordic Church with friends enjoying tea, cake and lots more lovely music!

All in all a great day and a true sign that in harsh times creativity will prevail; music will be heard coming from the old factories, people will dance in the streets and grass roots communities will always thrive and grow within the concrete jungles that so often seem to stifle our imaginations. If you put a smile on one person’s face your endeavour may be considered a success.

My smile was one in a sea of many.
Thank you to everyone who contributed and made it possible!

I have a photo album on Facebook from the Saturday at Threshold HERE. Feel free to download and use the pictures but if you post them anywhere I would be grateful if you could photo credit ‘Georgia Stuart Photography’. Thank you.

love&peace,
rob x