The Staves

Drawing inspiration from young folk revivalists such as Laura Marling, Mountain Man, and the Pierces, Watford, England’s the Staves fuse the reflective phrasing of traditional British folk with the airy spirit of Laurel Canyon-era pop. Their first full-length record, Dead & Born & Grown, arrived in 2012. Justin Vernon of Bon Iver helmed the follow-up, 2015’s If I Was, while John Congleton guided 2021’s Good Woman, a collection shaped in part by experiences of grief and motherhood. Congleton returned to oversee 2024’s All Now, an album that revealed a clear electronic pop direction.

The three sisters—Emily on vocals, Jessica on vocals and guitar, and Camilla Staveley-Taylor on vocals and ukulele—came together in 2009. They first developed their harmonies while singing along to their parents’ collection, heavy with Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. At just fourteen, Emily joined her siblings for an open-mike night at a local pub; the warm response encouraged regular appearances there. In 2010 the group issued its debut EP, Facing West, and also served as backing vocalists on Tom Jones’ gospel album Praise & Blame.

Two further EPs in 2011—Live at Cecil Sharp House and Mexico—caught the ear of major labels, leading the sisters to sign with Atlantic Records. Early the next year they supported the Civil Wars and Bon Iver across North America. Later in 2012 they released Dead & Born & Grown, produced by Glyn and Ethan Johns. The 2014 EP Blood I Bled previewed the Justin Vernon-produced If I Was, which reached the Top 20 on both the Billboard Americana/Folk and Heatseekers Albums charts, earned the band a tour with Florence + the Machine, and secured a Glastonbury slot. Sleeping in a Car followed in 2016; the following year Nonesuch released The Way Is Read, a collaboration with the chamber ensemble yMusic that mixed original Staves songs with reimagined yMusic pieces.

Late in 2018 the trio toured the U.K. alongside fellow sister act First Aid Kit. The death of their mother and the birth of Emily’s daughter soon prompted a quieter period. Their voices appeared on several tracks from Paul Weller’s 2020 album On Sunset, and previews of a new full-length surfaced online in the second half of that year. Produced by John Congleton, Good Woman arrived in February 2021 and peaked at number 13 on the U.K. albums chart. The group later marked the tenth anniversary of Dead & Born & Grown with a limited-edition vinyl reissue. Before beginning work on 2024’s pop-oriented All Now, Emily stepped back to focus on family, leaving the Staves to continue as a duo.