The Staves

The Staves are three sisters - Emily, Jessica and Milly - riding the popularity of nu-folk in the wake of the popularity of the likes of Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons. Their beguiling songs and persuasive harmonies even inspired the press to invent a new genre, "goth folk", to describe the style of their debut album Dead & Born & Grown as it climbed the charts in 2012. The daughters of a teacher and a businessman, they grew up listening to their parents' collection of American folk records and were particularly influenced by Bob Dylan and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The sisters gained early experience playing together at open mic shows, graduating to pub gigs, when their time off from university allowed, before deciding to undertake a professional career, culminating in them being signed to Atlantic Records and the Dead & Born & Grown album. Another big break occurred when invited to sing backing vocals on Tom Jones' 2010 hit Praise & Blame, impressing producer Ethan Johns so much, he offered to produce their album with his father, the legendary Rolling Stones/Who producer Glyn Johns. They gained much acclaim, too, supporting Bon Iver at Wembley Arena and had a small hit single with Tongue Behind My Teeth and also released the EPs Motherlode, Mexico and Live At Cecil Sharp House.

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