THE Staves will head out in the autumn for 11 British headline shows on their biggest tour to date, playing Leeds Beckett University on October 27.

The harmony-singing Staveley-Taylor sisters, Jessica, Camilla and Emily, from Watford, Hertfordshire, launched their second album, If I Was, with sold-out shows at the legendary Wilton’s Music Hall, in London, where the record’s American producer, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, made a guest appearance.

Recorded over a handful visits to Vernon’s studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and previewed in a sublime concert at Pocklington Arts Centre in February, If I Was was released through Atlantic Records on March 23, entering the British album chart at number 14.

The October tour is preceded by a string of UK and Irish dates next month, opening with a May 2 show at the Leadmill in Sheffield. Festival appearances will follow at Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye, on May 23, Somersault Festival, Devon, July 24, and Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons, August 21.

Tickets for The Staves’ Leeds gig go on sale at 9am tomorrow through the band’s website, thestaves.com/live