The Staves
Friday 9th June 2017
Sold Out
Mikaela Davis
At The Old Market
Doors 7:30 pm
Price £16 + booking fee / £20
Taking a cue from youthful folk revivalists like Laura Marling, Mountain Man, and the Pierces, Watford, England’s the Staves blend the wistful cadences of classic British folk with breezy, Laurel Canyon-era Americana.
The trio was formed in 2010 around the talents of sisters Emily (vocals), Jessica (vocals/guitar), and Camilla Staveley-Taylor (vocals/ukulele), who first learned to harmonize by singing along with their parents’ record collection, dominated by the likes of Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. They released their debut EP, Facing West, in 2010, and the same year they performed as backing vocalists on Tom Jones’ 2010 gospel collection Praise & Blame.
The year 2011 brought a pair of EPs, Live at Cecil Sharp House and Mexico, which brought them to the attention of the major labels. The siblings signed with Atlantic Records, and capitalising on the buzz created by their well-received debuts, they spent the beginning of 2012 supporting acts the Civil Wars and Bon Iver in North America before releasing their first full-length outing, Dead & Born & Grown, which was produced by Glyn and Ethan Johns. The fall of 2014 saw the release of another EP, Blood I Bled; the title track was a preview of the album If I Was, which was produced by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and released in February 2015. The trio toured with Florence and the Machine, and also appeared at Glastonbury. An EP, Sleeping in a Car, followed in 2016.
“This one is softer in its address, more introspective, yet the sound is so much bolder, the music taking thrilling leaps in character and complexity. ” – The Guardian 4/5
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Mikaela Davis
Mikaela Davis is the kind of songwriter who routinely defies expectations. The 23 year-old artist is a composer of striking maturity. Her arrangements deftly combine elements of psychedelic rock, folk and chamber pop, and her vocals display a wisdom and a ruefulness that belie her years. Davis’ instrument of choice is the harp, which she has played since she was eight years old, right about the time she could actually get her hands around the instrument. A native of Rochester, New York, she spent her formative years in youth orchestras rather than in garage bands and later earned a degree from the Crane School of Music.