Music / Reviews
Review: The Staves, Bristol Cathedral – ‘Ethereally beautiful music’
“This is a bit of a dick move,” joked Jessica Staveley-Taylor as her band, the Staves, known for their exquisite harmonies, had been booked to follow a choir with more than 40 members.
In the words of youngest Staves sister, Camilla, Heartwood Chorus had been “absolutely dreamy” as for yet another year they were given the honour of opening proceedings at Bristol Folk Festival.
“We were in complete bliss listening to them,” said Camilla.
Heartwood Chorus opened Bristol Folk Festival 2026 at Bristol Cathedral – photo: Paul Blakemore
Heartwood Chorus performed six songs under the expert direction of Neil Johnson including the rousing Between the Wars by Billy Bragg and the mournful Sallow Tree.
They filled Bristol Cathedral with richness; a perfect amuse bouche for the Staves.
Heartwood Chorus and their director, Neil Johnson – photo: Paul Blakemore
It’s a long way from Cafe Cha Cha Cha in Watford’s Cassiobury Park – which was among the small venues in which the Staves first played as a trio while Camilla was still at school – to the grand surroundings of Bristol Cathedral.
Since then they have recorded with the likes of Bon Iver and Flyte, and gone from a trio to a duo after eldest sister Emily left the group to raise a family.
This gig was the first for Jessica since she had also become a mum but from the first chords of Icarus – recently covered by Jacob Collier – this was an evening of ethereally beautiful music.
They may be from south west Hertfordshire but this was also a homecoming of sorts for the Staves whose first gig on their first UK tour was at the Louisiana.
Among a selection of songs from across their career was also a perfect song for Bristol Cathedral, Make It Holy: “I could make it holy, make it special, make it right.”
After School was dedicated to their absent sister Emily (all three sisters attended Rickmansworth School in Croxley Green near Watford) and In the Long Run to a family they had met earlier on Friday while at Pizza Express in the Harbourside.
Jess and Camilla of the Staves in Bristol Cathedral – photo: Paul Blakemore
Despite a break from performing live for a while, the Staves’ harmonies were still impeccable and the audience was of course forgiving about a few forgotten words and some accidental swearing in this house of God.
The audience was also in on the pretence that the magnificent Mexico was going to be their last song of the night before what would have been an encore if they had not remained on the small raised stage.
The encore-that-was-not-an-encore began with Eagle Song from their 2012 debut album, following which the house lights very slowly turned on so Jessica and Camilla could take a selfie for their cathedral-loving dad.
Good Woman closed proceedings with the last exquisite harmonies of the evening prior to a hugely deserved standing ovation as the always brilliant Bristol Folk Festival got underway with two wonderfully complementary acts.
Main photo: Paul Blakemore
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