Wild Rivers Impresses at Union Stage
Image Courtesy of Wild Rivers
By Renee Rasmussen
With Bennie and the Jets playing in the background, the band Wild Rivers took their place on the stage amidst applause and cheers, taking the time to dance and sing along to the iconic song.
As the song fizzled out, the band went right into their opener: Wandering Child, the first song on their only full-length album, making it an apt choice.
Their comfort and ease on stage was not only a testament to their talent, but to their comfort at the venue. This was the band’s second show at Union Stage, their first being October 1, 2021, and then playing again on October 7. After the first song, lead singer Devan Glover remarked that the second show was already better than the first.
Wild Rivers wasted no time, transitioning directly into their next song without stopping for a breath. After this, Glover took the time to tell a story about their new song Amsterdam; it will appear on their new album which is scheduled to release in February.
She explained that the song was based on a long-distance relationship her cousin was in that ended over the phone two months before her cousin was planning to move to Amsterdam with her boyfriend. Glover blushed a little and explained through laughs that she wrote this song a few years ago and while it was released recently, her cousin and boyfriend had gotten back together and actually moved to Amsterdam together. While the crowd laughed, Glover joked that Christmas dinner was going to be particularly awkward this year.
It was obvious throughout the show that the band was having a great time performing on stage. They told jokes, Glover spent guitar solos dancing around the stage, and they interacted with the crowd constantly.
Before playing their hit love song Speak Too Soon, Glover and fellow singer Khalid Yassein admitted that most of their songs were break-up songs, but Speak Too Soon was one of their “fun” ones. Glover commented that the audience got three minutes of fun during that song before returning to more sad songs.
Not only were those three minutes enjoyable, they carried the energy into the rest of the concert. This was when the band really settled in, performing an emotional Do or Die with Yassein taking the lead on keyboard and Glover in the center stage.
The band then surprised the audience by singing the first verse of Love Gone Wrong, a tragic heartbreak ballad, and then immediately transitioning to Small Talk, an upbeat song about awkward post-breakup conversations. From slow and serious to upbeat and serious, Wild Rivers had the crowd dancing one minute to solemn in the next.
To end their stellar show, Wild Rivers played the highly anticipated and loved Thinking ‘Bout Love, their most popular song. Although it was another song with serious undertones, Glover was animated in her performance, moving around the stage and dancing along with her fellow bandmates. When the chorus rolled around, the whole audience sang along with Gavin and Yassein, causing them to both crack a smile.
It was a moment neither the audience nor Wild Rivers are likely to forget soon.
