Bob Dylan is said to have discovered Rivera before the rehearsal for his 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour. While being driven in his limousine around the Village, Dylan spotted Rivera walking with her violin in the case. Dylan stopped to converse with Rivera and invited her to his rehearsal studio where she spent the afternoon playing along with several of the new songs. "If I had crossed the street seconds earlier," said Rivera in 2012, "it never would have happened." After a session with her, Dylan invited Rivera to play on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour. She played an important role in Dylan's studio album "Desire".