Riva Taylor at St Pancras Old Church 7th May 2026

Last week Riva Taylor brought her music back to London for her first show in the city for a while. The venue she chose was St Pancras Old Church which claimed its place in music history when The Beatles used the grounds and courtyard for a 1968 photo shoot and which was set up as a music venue back in 2011. Anyone that has ever been to this venue will tell you that the acoustics there are incredible and the atmosphere intimate. It couldn’t be a more perfect venue for an artist like Riva Taylor with her crystal clear vocals and warm intimate style.

Riva Taylor is an artist I’ve followed for some time and maybe the thing that always draws me to her music is her refusal to confine her art to any one genre of music; what drives her is the passion she has for embracing so many different styles and this show was a brilliant example of not only her quality but also her diversity.

Opening with new single ‘Maestro’, Riva then took us on a wonderful tour of her music. New EP ‘Keeping it Together’ stood side by side with previous albums ‘Colour of Blue’ and the two ‘ This Woman’s Heart’ releases and even a Portishead cover. The new EP seems to draw everything from her career together in her most genre defying release yet.

The grand sweep of cinema, the timeless pop melodies and the sultry Latin grooves are combined with her stage beginnings to create something so wonderfully immersive that you are transported to a different place entirely, not only geographically but emotionally. When blended with her previous releases, we were treated to a quite splendid set list in the perfect venue.

Accompanied by her excellent band including Morricone-esque trumpet, mariachi like guitar, subtle drums and beautiful backing vocals, Riva drew on the golden era of elegance with her stylish delivery, wonderful storytelling and perfect vocals. Each song was accompanied by an explanation of its inception and this meant that the evening wasn’t just about music but was also an intimate glimpse into what makes Riva Taylor special and how she creates such diverse music.

Riva obviously enjoyed the intimate setting and said afterwards:

“Old favourites, plenty of new ones too, surrounded by gorgeous humans…thank you to everyone who came to my first London show in little while. An intimate venue packed with so much love. Doesn’t get much better than that. Besos”

I truly hope that as Riva moves on to the next chapter of life having become a Mum to her son, to whom she dedicated one of her songs, we will see another wonderful musical chapter too. The new EP is both timeless and forward looking and feels like Riva has been able to blend English lyricism with Bossa Nova and Rumba rhythms and Burt Bacharach elegance to create something really quite special which she delivered brilliantly in this live and intimate format. The evening left everyone wanting more and I’m so pleased I was able to see Riva on her return to London, especially in one of my favourite venues.

Set list: Intro, Maestro, The Great Unknown, Let Go Too Soon, Keeping it Together, Colour of Blue, No Protection, Roads, Solo Quiereme, Hey-Ho, Eyes of a Stranger, Raining Tears, Perfect Timing, Valentine Road, If I Could Ever Stop Loving You, This Woman’s Heart.