When Klara and Johanna Söderberg first stepped inside the Royal Albert Hall twelve years ago, they were touring the songs that would cement their reputation beyond Sweden. Returning to the London hall on September 29, the sisters brought along the 65 piece Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra for one of two exclusive UK dates. The occasion was designed around a complete performance of their 2014 album, Stay Gold, but it also became a public farewell to Dolly Parton, who died last month at the age of 80.
Opening with the material from Stay Gold, the sisters used the orchestral personnel behind them to reconstruct the moment their creative habits changed. Speaking to the room before singing Waitress Song, Klara recalled that the duo had previously enforced a strict rule against using anything other than acoustic instruments on their records. That self imposed restriction fell apart during the writing of their third album, when it became clear that several arrangements required string sections. They decided then to drop their boundaries and record whatever felt right, a shift heard throughout the first set on songs like My Silver Lining, Master Pretender, and Cedar Lane. For A Long Time Ago, the sisters walked to the lip of the stage and sat down together. A quiet piano figure began the piece before the Gothenburg players gradually entered, swelling beneath the vocal harmonies to close the first half of the concert.
The second set moved through material from across the rest of their catalogue, including their familiar version of Simon and Garfunkel's America. Introducing the piece, the pair looked back to 2012, when they were booked to perform the song directly in front of Paul Simon at the Polar Music Prize in Sweden. Klara recalled knocking back five energy drinks before walking out, terrified that her shaking legs would give her away or that Simon might get up and leave mid song. Johanna remembered Simon watching them with an intimidating, stern resting expression, though he eventually stood up to lead the applause. Later in the set, the audience held up mobile phones to light the hall during Emmylou, an early single written about classic country partnerships.
That lineage carried straight into the encore. Stepping forward to acknowledge Parton as one of their primary musical heroes, the Söderbergs and the orchestra launched into Parton's 1974 standard, I Will Always Love You. Framed by symphonic arrangements rather than the leaner country backing of the original recording, the song closed the night on a quiet, affectionate note.
Parton's death has prompted a wave of tributes from prominent musicians over the past month. Taylor Swift used her acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards to honour Parton, calling her the ultimate showgirl. Rock band U2 revealed that their upcoming album features Parton's last studio vocal on a track named Torn, where she opens the piece with a quiet verse about family conflict before joining Bono on the chorus.
At the Royal Albert Hall, First Aid Kit approached Parton from a different angle, focusing on the sheer weight of her songwriting. Bringing together Swedish vocal harmonies and the massed strings of Gothenburg, the performance served as a direct reminder of how far Parton's influence travelled from Nashville, leaving a mark on musicians raised an ocean away.
