The Staves' Glastonbury diary

The Staves are (left to right) sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Stavely-Taylor

Folk trio The Staves came to Glastonbury to play three shows in three days - then ended up closing the festival on the Pyramid stage.

The band are friends with headliners Mumford and Sons, who called them at the last minute to ask for help with their closing number, A Little Help From My Friends.

Prior to the festival, the three Watford sisters had been away since April, criss-crossing America in a minibus to promote their debut album, Dead and Born and Grown.

Battling heroically against jetlag, they proved a hit at Glastonbury, where their gorgeous, bluegrass-inspired harmonies soothed even the most "refreshed" of revellers.

Across the weekend, Emily, Jessica and Camilla updated the BBC with their Glastonbury diary.

ONE WEEK TO GO - 19/06/2013

Jessica: We've three shows left to play in the US. Today we're in Oregon, and we have two days to get to California. Unfortunately, the private jet is under maintenance at the moment, so we're travelling in a pimped-out school bus.

We get back from this tour with a day to spare, and then we're going to head to Glastonbury. It's going to be our welcome home.

Emily: Last time we played there, I was working in a call centre for Mothercare. You know how angry people normally are when they call those places? Well these were pregnant women and they were livid.

I asked my boss if I could have three days off to go and play Glastonbury and he said no. So I quit. That was the last time I had a proper job.

Jessica: Our show hasn't changed drastically over the intervening years. You'll often see me tuning things up and plugging in guitars. I like packing down and plugging in. I'm just a roadie at heart.

FRIDAY 28/06/2013 - 15:30

The band have played 24 shows in the last six weeks

Emily: We've just arrived in Glastonbury! We had to drive through the site, as opposed to taking the backstage route - so we got to drive through the heart of the chaos. Loads of people not wearing very much. Already a bit of mud. Already a bit wasted.

Jessica: Then we immediately got a flat tyre, and spent an hour-and-a-half trying to change the tyre.

I say "we" - I didn't necessarily help with any of it. But I was there.

FRIDAY 28/06/2013 - 19:00, Croissant Neuf Stage

Camilla: We've just come off stage. I think it went ok. We had some sound issues and we were finding our way through it. But the audience helped with that.

Jessica: The audience was awesome. I can't believe how many people came out to see it.

Camilla: It wasn't just that there were loads of them, they were just so quiet - which you don't really associate with festivals. A lot of the time it's loud, drunk people.

Emily: It's good to have a gig under our belt before the big show tomorrow morning.

FRIDAY 28/06/2013 - 22:00

Camilla: We've just found out we may be doing an extra performance that we hadn't planned with some friends on Sunday. In a nice place, with a good slot. Has one of those friends had brain surgery recently? No, no, no, no, no. No.

Emily: It's the Daft Punk slot.

SATURDAY 29/06/2013 - 08:30, Worthy Farm

It bodes well - Emily finds a four-leaf clover

Emily: We're up extra early to play on the Radio 4 Today Programme. While we were getting ready, I literally saw Michael Eavis, then looked down and saw a four-leaf clover.

Jessica: He leaves a trail of them wherever he walks.

SATURDAY 29/06/2013 - 11:00, The Other Stage

Emily: We're about to play The Other Stage. I imagine people will still be in their tents sleeping off Friday night. The first time we came to Glastonbury, 11:30 in the morning didn't exist. So who knows?

SATURDAY 29/06/2013 - 13:00, The Other Stage

The Staves gently rocked the Other Stage into life ahead of sets from Azealia Banks and Example

Emily: That was awesome. Definitely the biggest crowd we've played to at a festival. We started with Motherlode. I thought "what would I want to hear as my first song of the day?" and that song has a morning feel to it.

We had to concentrate pretty hard on what we were hearing, especially because the drum kit was further away, so we had to look at each other a lot to get a sense of what people were doing, and make sure everyone was in time. Luckily it went great. Glastonbury have pretty good gear, so that helps.

SUNDAY 30/06/2013 - 11:25

Camilla: I saw a lot of strange things in the Arcadia field last night. Fatboy Slim was playing inside a giant spider that was throwing out fire. We're going to get one for our next tour, but instead of flamethrowers, it'll have t-shirt cannons.

SUNDAY 30/06/2013 - 15:00

Jessica: This evening, we're two acts above Bruce Forsyth on the Avalon Stage. I don't know what to make of that. We're all very confused but slightly excited.

Emily: We're going to try to get our photo taken with him and, if he agrees, that'll be the t-shirt for our next tour.

Camilla: I'm sure he won't have a problem with us using his face.

SUNDAY 30/06/2013 - 17:00, The Avalon Stage

Emily: Bruce Forsyth - what a legend! I was actually too star-struck to approach him. But what I did do was eat the remainder of his rider, which was a pack of digestive biscuits

SUNDAY 30/06/2013 - 19:20

Backstage - the band wait behind the Pyramid stage

Camilla: We've just finished what was supposed to be our last show of the festival on the Avalon stage. But we're running straight down to… er, a different stage for a secret rehearsal. We'll see you at Mumford And Sons.

Jessica: In the audience, though.

Emily: Yes, definitely in the audience. We'll meet you by the flag.

SUNDAY 30/06/2013 - 23:40, The Pyramid Stage

Camilla: We just played on the Pyramid stage….

Emily: …On the last song of the last night of Glastonbury with Mumford and Sons!

Jessica: The last time we sang that song was in our local pub in Watford, with a Joe Cocker tribute band.

Emily: I think we only ran through it three times with Mumford and Sons.

Jessica: It was two or three times before the show, and then the guys had to go on and play.

Camilla: When they asked us to sing with us, we thought that would be really, really fun. Then we realised it'll probably be the only time we'll ever step on the Pyramid stage.

Emily: It was literally the best thing ever. The audience just didn't end. It was, like, people, people, people, people.

Jessica: It's the perfect end to a perfect weekend.

The Staves were speaking to BBC Entertainment reporter Mark Savage. Their album Dead And Born And Grown is out now.