Mumford and Sons

Contemporary folk, folk-rock, Americana

Mumford and Sons are an English folk-rock band whose music balances that fine line between contemporary folk and rock. Their music could be of interest to earlier British invasion bands like the Beatles, although it's considerably folkier in aesthetic, like the Pogues meets more modern indie folk outfits like Cave Singers and the Head and the Heart. Like these up-and-comers, Mumford and Sons is known for their hugely energetic live shows, as they proved at Bonnaroo 2011 and other festivals around the country. Fans of Mumford and Sons might be interested in checking out bands like the Black Keys, David Wax Museum, or even singer-songwriters like Justin Townes Earle.

Marcus Mumford - vocals, guitar, drums, mandolin
Ben Lovett - vocals, keys, accordion, drums
Country Winston Marshall - vocals, banjo, dobro
Ted Dwane - vocals, string bass, drums, guitar

Sigh No More (Glass Note, 2009) compare prices

"The Cave" (from Sigh No More)
"Feel the Tide" (from Live at Shepherd's Bush)
"White Blank Page (from Sigh No More)

Though most people think of Mumford & Sons as an English folk-rock band, lead singer Marcus Mumford was actually born in Anaheim, Calif., in 1987. But, Mumford moved with his family back to England shortly after and grew up there. He met Lovett at King's College School, where the two were enrolled, then went on to study classics at the University of Edinburgh. After only one year at university, though, Mumford left Edinburgh to return to London and pursue his career as a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

There, he took to playing drums for Laura Marling before reuniting with his school friend Ben Lovett and forming Mumford and Sons in 2007. The band cut its teeth at the same clubs as their contemporaries - Marling, Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn, and others. A year or so after forming, they allied themselves with a manager who introduced them to Island Records. However, Island decided not to sign them at the time because they felt the band wasn't ready for major label support. Nonetheless, in mid-2008, Mumford performed at Glastonbury and hit the road in Australia with Marling.

Also in '08, the band recorded its first EP - Love Your Ground. They continued touring in Ireland and the U.S., where they found hugely supportive and enthusiastic audiences. Finally in mid-2009, the band inked a deal with Island Records in the UK and Glassnote in the U.S., releasing Sigh No More, in August of that year (February 2010 in the U.S.). By then, after spending a couple years on the road, they were well-poised for UK music scene domination. The disc rocketed to Number One in Ireland (as well as in Australia and New Zealand) and reached Number Two on the UK chart.

In 2010, they scored two Grammy nominations and won a Brit Award for Best British Album in 2011, for Sigh No More.

After making their U.S. debut in late 2010, Mumford and Sons returned to the States in 2011 to do a tour of festivals and more. Delivering stirring performances at festivals as variant as Coachella, Wakarusa, and Bonnaroo, Mumford solidified their American fanbase. So, it came as little surprise that they received four more Grammy nominations in 2011, as they returned to England to work on a follow-up effort to their first full-length album.

As for the sophomore album, there's no word of its release date yet, but songs from it were performed throughout their 2011 tour (including those festival dates.