Image from Wikipedia

Mumford & Sons appeared at Webster Hall on Tuesday night in a sold out show in the middle of an almost completely sold out US tour. Although Mumford & Sons sounds like a family owned vegetable farm somewhere on the outskirts of town, they are in fact a folk / bluegrass / country, with a hint of rock, band from West London – a locale not necessarily know for its bluegrass tradition.

Mumford & Sons established itself in late 2007 and is made up of Marcus Mumford, Marshall “Country” Winston, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane – fast friends, but not family despite the name. This quartet is renown for their live shows. This show at Webster Hall, in what was likely their biggest venue to date, did not disappoint.

To be frank, as I look at my playlists – country and bluegrass do not fare terribly well, however, there is no stopping this live folk experience from capturing your ears, until soon you are a compliant devotee. With well-crafted songs, poetic lyrics, vocal harmonization and wonderfully blended instrumentation – this band offered the best country themed entertainment since My Little Pony.

M&S took to the stage before a jam-packed audience and set about the business of bringing the venue to life. They opened their set with their warm, old time sounding ‘Sigh No More’ and established that bluegrass base into ‘Awake My Soul’ and ‘The Cave’ before merging the music with a powerful rock overlay in ‘Thistle and Weeds’, offering a sound which I think is pretty unique right now. This mighty sound was then interspersed with pared down a capella vocals, shrinking the large venue to feel like we were attending a performance at the local town hall. Although comprised of four people, M&S often sounds as though it is a force of twelve in the cacophony of voices and instruments, which is then smoothly reduced to one voice and one instrument, before the wave rises again to take us to another height.

The vocal harmonization in this group, as well as the instrumental gelling, is something to behold. They perform with an ease and apparent total trust of one anothers ability to take the music where it needs to go. They are gracious performers, thanking their audience and seeming impressed with filling a large venue, they perform with a pride and passion that we don’t see nearly enough. Their energy and enthusiasm was infectious with the audience rapt to every note and word.

Beyond their harmonizations and instrumentals, their lyrics have a rare purity and honesty. Lyrics which deal with loss, express rage and courage and always offer hope. M&S, although not a family, has a warmth to its poetry and to its playing that sounds as though it was cultivated through the generations of a family. The band has an air of musical travellers who dropped by to give you some truths before they ramble on down the road again.

Highlights of the show included ‘Thistle & Weeds’, ‘White Blank Page’, ‘Awake My Soul’ and ‘The Cave’.

Upcoming shows are as follows, pray to your Gods that tickets are not already sold out.

May 21 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
May 22 – Columbus, OH – Wexner Center
May 24 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
May 25 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theatre
May 29 – George, WA – Sasquatch Music Festival
May 30 – Vancouver, BC – 560 Club
May 31 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theatre
June 3 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
June 4 – Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theatre
June 7 – Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
June 9 – Austin, TX – Antone’s
June 10 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
June 12 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music Festival
June 14 – Bloomington, IN – The Bluebird
June 15 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway
June 16 – Kansas City, MO – Record Bar