'Women Who Rock' Bands // p 6 of 7

Ruth Brown

Ruth Alston Brown (née Weston, January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes known as the "Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean". For these contributions, Atlantic became known as "the house that Ruth built" (alluding to the popular nickname for the old Yankee Stadium). Brown was a 1993 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Following a resurgence that began in the mid-1970s and peaked in the 1980s, Brown used her influence to press for musicians' rights regarding royalties and contracts; these efforts led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Her performances in the Broadway musical Black and Blue earned Brown a Tony Award, and the original cast recording won a Grammy Award. Brown was a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. In 2017, Brown was inducted into National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. She is also the aunt to legendary hip hop MC Rakim.

Early life

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Brown was the eldest of seven siblings. She attended I. C. Norcom High School, which was then legally segregated. Brown's father was a dockhand. He also directed the local church choir at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, but the young Ruth showed more interest in singing at USO shows and nightclubs, rebelling against her father. She was inspired by Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington.

In 1945, aged 17, Brown ran away from her home in Portsmouth along with the trumpeter Jimmy Brown, whom she soon married, to sing in bars and clubs. She then spent a month with Lucky Millinder's orchestra.

Early Career

Ruth Brown performs at the Mambo Club in Wichita, Kansas, 1957
Blanche Calloway, Cab Calloway's sister, also a bandleader, arranged a gig for Brown at the Crystal Caverns, a nightclub in Washington, D.C., and soon became her manager. Willis Conover, the future Voice of America disc jockey, caught her act with Duke Ellington and recommended her to Atlantic Records bosses Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Brown was unable to audition as planned because of a car crash, which resulted in a nine-month stay in the hospital. She signed with Atlantic Records from her hospital bed.

In 1948, Ertegun and Abramson drove from New York City to Washington, D.C., to hear Brown sing. Her repertoire was mostly popular ballads, but Ertegun convinced her to switch to rhythm and blues.

In her first audition, in 1949, she sang "So Long", which became a hit. This was followed by "Teardrops from My Eyes" in 1950. Written by Rudy Toombs, it was the first upbeat major hit for Brown. Recorded for Atlantic Records in New York City in September 1950 and released in October, it was Billboard's R&B number one for 11 weeks. The hit earned her the nickname "Miss Rhythm", and within a few months, she became the acknowledged queen of R&B.

She followed up this hit with "I'll Wait for You" (1951), "I Know" (1951), "5-10-15 Hours" (1953), "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" (1953), "Oh What a Dream" (1954), "Mambo Baby" (1954), and "Don't Deceive Me" (1960), some of which were credited to Ruth Brown and the Rhythm Makers. Between 1949 and 1955, her records stayed on the R&B chart for a total of 149 weeks; she would go on to score 21 Top 10 hits altogether, including five that landed at number one. Brown ranked No. 1 on The Billboard 1954 Disk Jockey Poll for Favorite R&B Artists.

Brown played many racially segregated dances in the southern states, where she toured extensively and was immensely popular. She claimed that a writer had once summed up her popularity by saying, "In the South Ruth Brown is better known than Coca-Cola."

Brown performed at the famed tenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 20, 1954. She performed along with The Flairs, Count Basie and his Orchestra, Lamp Lighters, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, Christine Kittrell, and Perez Prado and his Orchestra.

Her first pop hit came with "Lucky Lips", a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and recorded in 1957. The single reached number 6 on the R&B chart and number 25 on the U.S. pop chart. The 1958 follow-up was "This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'", written by Bobby Darin and Mann Curtis. It reached number 7 on the R&B chart and number 24 on the pop chart.

She had further hits with "I Don't Know" in 1959 and "Don't Deceive Me" in 1960, which were more successful on the R&B chart than on the pop chart. During the 1960s, Brown faded from public view and lived as a housewife and mother.

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S.G. Goodman

S.G. Goodman is a singer songwriter from Hickman, Kentucky.

Her debut album, Old Time Feeling, was co-produced by Jim James of My Morning Jacket.

She is signed to Verve Forecast Records.

In 2021 she as a solo artist was inter alia part of the Newport Folk Festival in July.

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Sade

Helen Folasade Adu CBE (Yoruba: Fọláṣadé Adú [fɔ̄láʃādé ādú]; born January 16, 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade (/ʃɑːˈdeɪ/ shah-DAY), is a Nigerian-British singer, songwriter, and actress, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band.

Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, but brought up in Essex, England, Sade gained modest recognition as a fashion designer and part-time model, prior to joining the band Pride in the early 1980s. After gaining attention as a performer, she formed the band Sade, and secured a recording contract with Epic Records in 1983. The band then released the album Diamond Life a year later, which became one of the best-selling albums of the era, and the best-selling debut ever by a British female vocalist. It also gained widespread critical acclaim and is included in the reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In July 1985, Sade was among the performers at the Live Aid charity concert at Wembley Stadium. In late 1985, they released Promise, which was also a resounding critical and commercial success, topping the UK Albums Chart and becoming the band's first album to debut atop the Billboard 200. It later earned quadruple platinum certification in the U.S., and reached platinum across Europe. It also earned the group the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1986. Their following two releases, 1988's Stronger Than Pride and 1992's Love Deluxe, were also critically and commercially successful; however, the band would go on hiatus after the birth of Sade's child, while the singer experienced widespread media coverage during the period for unsubstantiated claims of mental health and addiction issues.

After a spell of eight years without an album, which came after Sade appeared in the film Absolute Beginners (1986), the band reunited in 1999, and released Lovers Rock in 2000. The album departed from the jazz-inspired inflections of their previous work, featuring mellower sounds and pop compositions, and was critically praised, earning the group the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. The band would then undergo another term of hiatus, not producing music for another ten years until the release of Soldier of Love. The album was another commercial success, although critical reception remained divided, but won the group the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Following the album's release, the band entered a third period of hiatus, and have only released two new songs (2018's "Flower of the Universe" for the soundtrack of Disney's A Wrinkle in Time and "The Big Unknown", part of the soundtrack for Steve McQueen's film Widows) to date.

Sade is widely considered a musical influence, and her contributions to music have made her a global figure in popular culture for over two decades. She has been credited as one of the most successful British female artists in history. Her services to music were also recognised with an award of the Officer of the Order of the British Empire chivalry honour in 2002, and later the rank of the Commander of the same order in 2017.

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Sam Phillips

I am a songwriter, musician and singer from Los Angeles California. When I began making albums for the Virgin America label in 1988, I started going by my nickname Sam in honor of the Great Producer who discovered and recorded Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.

T Bone Burnett produced seven of my albums for Virgin and Nonesuch Records. I produced my last three albums Don’t Do Anything, Push Any Button and now World On Sticks.

In 2000, Amy Sherman-Palladino asked me to compose and perform the music for her TV show Gilmore Girls, which I did for seven seasons, and I have reprised that role for the new Gilmore Girls (A Year In The Life) revival for Netflix. In 2017 Amy asked me to contribute some music to her new show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, for Amazon.

The band on World on Sticks is Jay Bellerose (drums), Jennifer Condos (bass), and Eric Gorfain (multi-instrumentalist/arranger), joined by special guests Jon Brion (bass/guitar), Chris Bruce (guitar) and The Section Quartet (strings); the recordings swing from broken modern sounds to dreamy, cinematic music.

As I wrote these songs I wanted to look at our lost connections…with nature, with mystery, with other humans and parts of ourselves. Watching a tree suffer through the California drought last summer made me feel for him. I wondered if it was painful or difficult for him to sprout leaves in the spring after such a dry year. I spent a few minutes with him every day. As I was standing in front of him, the words ‘Walking Tree’ popped into my head. I imagined this was his name for me…a name that reached out with empathy for my conflicting desires to be both rooted and free. Maybe he felt for me because of my short life and fast-spinning mind…not taking enough time to realize that I’m here to be a loving part of all this.

^{Source samphillips.com}

Samantha Crain

Samantha Crain (born August 15, 1986) is a Choctaw-American songwriter, musician, producer, and singer from Shawnee, Oklahoma, signed with Ramseur Records (North America) and Full Time Hobby Records (UK/Europe).

Crain won 2 NAMMYs (Native American Music Awards) in 2009 for Folk Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. She also won the Indigenous Music Award for Best Rock Album in 2019. She has had songs featured on 90210, HBO's Hung, and in many independent documentaries and films, including Barking Water and UNRESERVED: The Work of Louie Gong. In 2017 and 2018, she worked with the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. to compose and contribute music for the extensive T.C. Cannon exhibit "At the Edge of America." In July 2018, she self-released a collection of sonnets "En Masse: A Collection of 30 Sonnets by Samantha Crain".

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Shilo Gold

After attending Berklee College of Music, just finishing season 13 of NBC's the Voice and touring Europe and the US, Shilo Gold is releasing her newest single Not Enough off her upcoming EP Salt / Water. Produced by Mitchell Haeuszer and Balam Garcia at Haus Music.

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Shook Twins

Shook Twins is a folk music group originally from Sandpoint, Idaho and currently based in Portland, Oregon, formed in 2004. The nucleus of the band consists of identical twin sisters Katelyn (guitar, mandolin, banjo, glockenspiel, telephone microphone) and Laurie Shook (banjo, guitar, tambourine, golden egg).

Their style of music incorporates acoustic instrumentation including banjo, guitar, mandolin, glockenspiel, and their signature golden egg. Twin harmonies layered on top of acoustic and electric instrumentation are coupled with Laurie's beatboxing and inventive use of a looping machine, and Katelyn's repurposed telephone microphone. The band members have performed with or opened for Ani DiFranco, Gregory Alan Isakov, Greensky Bluegrass, Mason Jennings, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Sarah Jarosz, Laura Veirs, Trace Bundy, Jonatha Brooke, Indigo Girls, Walk Off the Earth, Crooked Still, Jason Webley, John Craigie, Elephant Revival, The Head and the Heart, The Infamous Stringdusters, and many more.

They have toured coast to coast performing at festivals including High Sierra Music Festival, Oregon Country Fair, Hulaween, Northwest String Summit, Summer Camp Music Festival, Electric Forest, Lightning in a Bottle, Joshua Tree Music Festival, Arise Music Festival, Four Corners Folk Festival, Fayetteville Roots and more.

“I love the harmonies of the Shook Twins, the dreamlike songs that seem somehow permeated by the American Folk tradition, without actually being part of it. They make music that twines through your soul the way vines cover an abandoned shack in the woods.” – Neil Gaiman, New York Times Best-Selling Author

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Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and recording artist. She attained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar that was extremely important to the origins of rock and roll. She was the first great recording star of gospel music and among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians, including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Tharpe was a pioneer in her guitar technique; she was among the first popular recording artists to use heavy distortion on her electric guitar, presaging the rise of electric blues. Her guitar playing technique had a profound influence on the development of British blues in the 1960s; in particular a European tour with Muddy Waters in 1964 with a stop in Manchester on 7 May is cited by prominent British guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Keith Richards.

Willing to cross the line between sacred and secular by performing her music of "light" in the "darkness" of nightclubs and concert halls with big bands behind her, Tharpe pushed spiritual music into the mainstream and helped pioneer the rise of pop-gospel, beginning in 1938 with the recording "Rock Me" and with her 1939 hit "This Train". Her unique music left a lasting mark on more conventional gospel artists such as Ira Tucker, Sr., of the Dixie Hummingbirds. While she offended some conservative churchgoers with her forays into the pop world, she never left gospel music.

Tharpe's 1944 release "Down by the Riverside" was selected for the National Recording Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress in 2004, which noted that it "captures her spirited guitar playing and unique vocal style, demonstrating clearly her influence on early rhythm-and-blues performers" and cited her influence on "many gospel, jazz, and rock artists". ("Down by the Riverside" was recorded by Tharpe on December 2, 1948, in New York City, and issued as Decca single 48106.) Her 1945 hit "Strange Things Happening Every Day", recorded in late 1944, featured Tharpe's vocals and electric guitar, with Sammy Price (piano), bass and drums. It was the first gospel record to cross over, hitting no. 2 on the Billboard "race records" chart, the term then used for what later became the R&B chart, in April 1945. The recording has been cited as a precursor of rock and roll, and alternatively has been called the first rock and roll record. In May 2018, Tharpe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence.

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Submotion Orchestra

Submotion Orchestra are a seven piece band formed in 2009 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. They are influenced by dubstep, soul, ambient electronica, jazz and dub.

Their debut LP Finest Hour was released on Ranking Records. They have performed all over the UK and Europe including Festival shows at The Big Chill, Latitude, Outlook and Bestival, and in Thailand at Wonderfruit. They have since released five full-length albums - Finest Hour (2011), Fragments (2012), Alium (2014), Colour Theory (2016), Kites (2018) - and two EPs - 1968 (2013) and III (2015).

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Sugar Candy Mountain

A space-age blast of psychedelic pop and Tropicalia that sounds like it could have reverberated right out of Phil Spector’s echo chamber.

If Brian Wilson had dropped acid on the beach in Brazil and decided to record an album with Os Mutantes and The Flaming Lips, it would sound like this- all psychedelic pop Wall-of Sound and beach balladry.

^{Source SugarCandyMountainBand.com}

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Go back to December 31, 2008 when guitarist Derek Trucks and his wife, singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi, were preparing to ring in the New Year. Married since 1999, these two soulmates, equally steeped in the musical roots of blues, jazz, and gospel, had finally decided the time was right to set aside their successful solo careers and commit to a new band melding their vision and talent. It wasn’t the first time they had collaborated; they had shared a stage countless times and traded album guest appearances, all while starting a family together. But on that night, hitting the stage together with members of the Derek Trucks Band and a guest horn section they heard the future.

"The 12-piece outfit puts out a big band sound that still rings intimate, shaking listeners to their emotional core." – Rolling Stone

Two years later, the couple debuted Tedeschi Trucks Band. The nation’s economy was heading into recession. The popular music landscape was filled with technological theatrics and auto-tuned singers. And here were Tedeschi and Trucks along with their (then) 8-member band, loading up two tour buses and hitting the road with a sound that defied conventional genre boundaries or traditional labels; a gypsy caravan on the rock-and-roll highway. To call it ambitious was an understatement.

During their five-year rise, the group toured incessantly, raising their profile and being handpicked to play with the likes of Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and Santana.

In pursuit of their ideal sound driven by world class musicianship, Tedeschi and Trucks put together a musical collaborative like no other, flying in the face of any practical or economic considerations. There have been evolutionary changes to the band along the way, but the freight-train force of veteran drummers J.J. Johnson and Tyler Greenwell were there from the start, along with two brilliant Trucks Band veterans to amplify the rhythm section: Kofi Burbridge with his prodigious talent on keys and flute, and Mike Mattison, with his dynamic vocals and songwriting skills. A 3-piece horn section brought on for studio work proved indispensable to the group’s sound and became a permanent addition – now composed of Kebbi Williams’ intergalactic saxophone, Ephraim Owens on trumpet and Elizabeth Lea on trombone. Industry-renowned bassist Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Sting) joined in 2013, and two years later a third incredible voice, Alecia Chakour, was added to the background vocals provided by Mark Rivers and Mattison; each more than capable of delivering a stirring turn as a lead vocalist.

On the road for upwards of 200 days a year, the TTB family has grown strong, bonding over backyard BBQs and long bus rides, all the while developing a growing repertoire of original material and paying homage to an extensive canon of influences ranging from Sly & the Family Stone, Miles Davis and George Jones to Joe Cocker, Nina Simone, and even Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan. Embracing improvisation over convention, and set lists rarely repeated, the collective is adept at exploring almost any musical territory. The genuine respect within its ranks is evident on stage. Trucks’ masterful guitar skills and Tedeschi’s soaring vocals and bluesy guitar shine but don’t overpower the breadth of talent, happily yielding the spotlight as needed in service of what the song deserves.

"I saw them live and it was mind blowing. [Derek] has taken the guitar, specifically slide guitar, somewhere it has never been. His phrasing both with and without slide is uniquely his and just odd and jarring and exciting to listen to. [Susan] is an earnest blues player as well and her voice is astounding. The band was mind-blowing. They take a form that is arguably tired and turn it inside out with originality and musicianship and make it totally their own." – Marc Maron

Trucks and Tedeschi’s uncompromising vision has paid off. Now 12-members strong, and with a catalog of five albums and nearly a decade of steady touring in the U.S. and abroad, Tedeschi Trucks Band carries a distinguished reputation earned from both audiences and critics as one of the premier live bands in the world. Sold-out multi-night runs at venerable venues like the Beacon Theatre, Ryman Auditorium and Red Rocks Amphitheater are a testament to the can’t-miss concert experience fans have come to anticipate. The band’s own “Wheels of Soul” tour has become a sought-after summer experience from promoters across the country, bringing TTB’s unique stew of upbeat rock and soul together on stage with a slew of guests, sit ins, and supporting bands that have included the late Sharon Jones, Los Lobos and most recently The Wood Brothers and Hot Tuna. 2018 will also mark the sixth year for the TTB-curated Sunshine Music Festival, hosted each January in their home state of Florida.

"Epic is an overused word, but if one contemporary rock band were to rightfully wear it, the Tedeschi Trucks Band might be the ones." - Santa Barbara Independent

TTB’s most recent CD/film release, Live From The Fox Oakland (2017) was nominated for a Grammy and follows a quartet of critically-hailed and commercially successful albums, including the Grammy-winning debut, Revelator (2011) and Let Me Get By (2016), called “one of the great records of the year” by the Associated Press. The film documents the progress the band has made since its inception, while also showcasing its endless potential to bring out the best in each other every night in any musical direction they choose. It’s clear that the leaders have no intention of slowing down now. As Trucks remarked to Mark Maron on his WTF podcast featured in the film, “I haven’t found this band’s ceiling yet.” For Tedeschi Trucks Band, there may not be one.

^{Source TedeschiTrucksBand.com}

The Barr Brothers

The Barr Brothers is an indie folk band founded in Montreal, Quebec, consisting of two American brothers Andrew and Brad Barr as well as bassist Morgan Moore, pedal steel guitarist Brett Lanier, and harpist Eveline Gregoire-Rousseau.

History

Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the group consists of two brothers: drummer Andrew Barr and songwriter and guitar player Brad Barr, both from Providence, Rhode Island. The third original member is harpist Sarah Pagé who discontinued touring with the band in 2018. Other instrumentation and musicians are added on tour, as needed.

Brad and Andrew Barr moved to Montreal from Providence, RI in 2005 after a decade of touring and recording as ⅔ of the trio, The Slip. That group was noted for its approach to long-form, live improvisation and was equally considered part of the jam band and experimental music scenes.

Soon after moving to Montreal, Brad heard the sounds of a harp through the bedroom wall of his new apartment. He went next door to introduce himself to Sarah Pagé, who was performing both in classical contexts and developing music with the songwriter Lhasa de Sela. Andrew also began performing with Lhasa. Soon the trio of Andrew, Brad and Sarah began performing Brad's songs under the Barr Brothers name, building upon them with Malian rhythms, slide guitar, homemade percussion instruments, and influences from delta blues, modern classical and Appalachian folk traditions.

The band's recordings have been nominated three times for Juno Awards: in 2013, 2015 and 2018 for Adult Alternative Album of the Year. Their self-titled debut album The Barr Brothers was released in 2011 and focused on acoustic and electrified songs rooted in Appalachian folk. Their second album Sleeping Operator (2014) further explored the connections between the Delta blues and its West and North African ancestry. Leftover songs from the Sleeping Operator sessions were released as a five-track collection Alta Falls (2015). Their third album Queens of the Breakers was released in autumn 2017.

The band tours frequently in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe and with some shows played in Japan. Notable venues have included Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, New York; the Red Rocks Amphitheater; and two appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman.

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The Be Good Tanyas

Alt folk trio The Be Good Tanyas have achieved cult status since the band's luminous debut Blue Horse, an album named one of 2002’s top 50 releases by Q magazine (UK), firmly established the group on the Americana music scene. With subsequent releases, Chinatown and Hello Love, the band has met with ever growing critical and fan acclaim, garnering 4 star reviews in Rolling Stone and MOJO magazine and selling out concert halls across North America and Europe.

Frazey Ford, Trish Klein and Samantha Parton; three women with gorgeous, haunting and plaintive voices accompanied by rustic, sparse and soulful instrumentation, high lonesome harmonies, and intelligent song-writing.

“The sonic equivalent of a prairie wind.” – Shawn Edward Cote - No Depression

"This balance of sweet and spooky is at the heart of the Be Good Tanyas' timeless beauty. Decades from now, their musical sound is natural next to the traditional songs that inspire their work"–Meredith Ochs of NPR Music

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The Staves

The Staves are an English indie folk trio of sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor from Watford, Hertfordshire, England.

Career

The Staves began performing together at open-mic nights in Watford hosted by a local pub, The Horns. Originally performing as The Staveley-Taylors, the trio later changed their name to The Staves.

The group appeared on the Tom Jones album Praise and Blame, released in July 2010. They supported Mt. Desolation on their UK tour in autumn 2010. Jessica Staveley-Taylor also performed as part of Mt. Desolation and provided vocals for their eponymous album. The Staves released the Live at Cecil Sharp House EP and the Mexico EP in 2011, and appeared on Fionn Regan's third studio album, 100 Acres of Sycamore.

The Staves toured in the United States while supporting The Civil Wars in January 2012. They followed these appearances with performances at South by Southwest and a tour in March and April with Bear's Den, Nathaniel Rateliff and Ben Howard. This tour was the subject of the film, "Austin to Boston", a documentary by Marcus Haney. The band supported Bon Iver on their May and June 2012 US and Canadian tour.

The band's debut album, Dead & Born & Grown, was released in November 2012 and produced by Glyn Johns and Ethan Johns.

An excerpt from their performance of "Facing West" on Later... with Jools Holland was featured on the This is BBC Two promotional programme.

The second full-length album, If I Was, was released 23 March 2015 on Atlantic Records in the UK/EU and on 31 March on Nonesuch Records in the US; the record was produced by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. The album debuted at #14 on the Official UK Album Chart. In July 2015, The Staves performed with Bon Iver as guest artists along with Colin Stetson, yMusic, and No BS! Brass for Bon Iver's return to the stage as part of the Eaux Claires Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. They have also performed as the warm-up act for Florence and the Machine on Florence's How Big Tour supporting How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.

At Glastonbury 2015, the Staves performed a set on The Park Stage on Sunday afternoon.

The Staves joined the live line-up of Bon Iver for the latter's Asia tour in late February and early March 2016.

On 24 November 2017, The Staves released The Way is Read − a full-length album created in conjunction with NYC-based chamber music ensemble yMusic. This album is available on vinyl, via the streaming service TIDAL in both normal and high quality MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) formats, and as an MP3 download. There is no CD version available yet.

The Staves played their first gig in New Zealand when they appeared at the Auckland City Limits music festival on 3 March 2018.

In October/November 2018 they supported First Aid Kit on their Rebel Heart tour.

In January 2020, The Staves announced that Emily Staveley-Taylor would not take part in touring, following the birth of her daughter.

In March 2020, The Staves announced they would be performing at the Glastonbury festival in 2020. But due to concerns over the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, the festival had to be cancelled.

The Staves announced their 3rd studio album "Good Woman" to be released 5 February 2021 via Atlantic Records UK and Nonesuch Records. The album was produced by John Congleton.

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This Is the Kit

This Is the Kit is the alias of British musician Kate Stables, as well as the band she fronts.

Critical attention

This Is The Kit were a long-time favourite among various BBC Radio 6 Music DJs, which is where the musician and presenter Guy Garvey discovered them, playing their music frequently. Fellow 6 Music DJs Lauren Laverne, Radcliffe & Maconie, Cerys Matthews, and Mary Anne Hobbs have also been major supporters; DJ Marc Riley has hosted the band for three BBC live sessions to date. BBC Radio 1 has offered the band spot plays via DJs Huw Stephens, Jen & Ally, and Phil Taggart.

As the band prepared to release their third album Bashed Out in late 2014 and early 2015, they began to receive more attention from online and print critics. Uncut, Drowned in Sound, The Line of Best Fit and The 405 awarded the album 8/10 ratings. The Mancunion rated a live show a 9/10. Finally, the American blog Stereogum wrote that "Kate Stables has been recording music as This Is The Kit for years now, but this is probably one of the first times you’re reading about her. "Bashed Out" will be her third full-length album, and…it will also likely be her breakout."

The band received a boost in attention in August 2015 when BBC iPlayer debuted an episode of the documentary series Music Box devoted to This Is The Kit's music and influences. The show was hosted by Garvey, who argued that their second album, Wriggle Out the Restless, deserved a Mercury Prize nomination.

The band also appeared in the BBC One television series Wanderlust, playing in a night club that Toni Colette's character Joy attended.

Recording history

In 2006, record label Sunday Best Recordings included the band's song "Two Wooden Spoons" in its Folk Off compilation album alongside artists including Animal Collective, Tunng and Vashti Bunyan. Their song was noted as a standout with Drowned in Sound stating: "its personal touch is largely what makes This Is The Kit the British highlight, not to mention that of the compilation as a whole". Following that, Sunday Best went on to release "Two Wooden Spoons" as a 7" single with the B side "Come a Cropper" in 2006.

This Is The Kit's first album, Krülle Bol (2008), was produced in Bristol by John Parish, a musician best known as PJ Harvey's longtime producer. It was originally released on the French label Microbe but has since been reissued on the band's own imprint.

The band's second album, Wriggle Out the Restless, was originally released by Dreamboat Records in 2010 and later reissued by the band's own Disco-ordination Records. In 2013 distribution began migrating to Brassland Records. The recording sessions drew on the talents of the Stables' extended musical community including Rozi Plain, Jim Barr, Francois & the Atlas Mountains and The Liftmen. The album was produced by longtime collaborator and partner Jesse D. Vernon.

In 2014, the band began work on their third studio LP Bashed Out with Aaron Dessner of The National. The band's usual members contributed to the recording as did studio musicians recruited by Aaron Dessner, including his brother Bryce Dessner, Benjamin Lanz, Thomas Bartlett, and Matt Barrick, amongst others. Brassland released the album in April 2015. It received attention as the band's "breakthrough" recording, and as one of the best British recordings of 2015.

July 2017 brought the release of the band's fourth LP Moonshine Freeze. The record was well received and chosen as the Rough Trade Album of the Month for July.

In October 2020, the band released their fifth LP Off Off On, again with Rough Trade.

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