London, UK · folk rock · indie folk

Mumford & Sons

5 upcoming festivals

Banjo-driven crescendos that defined a decade of festival folk, now delivered with the electric guitars left plugged in — the singalongs never optional.

Mumford & Sons formed in London in 2007, emerging from the same West London acoustic scene that produced Laura Marling and Noah and the Whale. Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane, joined for the band's first decade by Winston Marshall, built their early sound on banjo, upright bass, keys and stacked four-part harmony, pairing quiet verses with loud, stomping payoffs.

The 2009 debut Sigh No More and its follow-up Babel carried that template to arenas on both sides of the Atlantic and helped push a wave of acoustic-leaning rock into the mainstream. Wilder Mind in 2015 swapped much of the acoustic instrumentation for electric guitars and drums, and later records have moved between the two approaches.

folk rockindie folk