— SpacePack

Happy Lazy Sundays to all! Maybe not so lazy for those still stuck in exams, but hopefully some of these tunes will keep you pushing through the semester.

Mumford & Sons played the biggest show of their careers last night at Coachella music fest in California (check some Coachella previews on Delta Spirit, Cold War Kids & Death From Above 1979). The show provided a stern test for the group to showcase their budding sound in the biggest music venue they have yet to encounter. But right from the start, the band looked like they were up to the task.

The group formed from the West London folk scene consists of Marcus Mumford who’s strong vocals, beautifully strummed guitar pieces and drum contributions on selected tracks stole the show. The other members of the band include Ben Lovett who rocked things on keyboard and provided excellent vocal harmonies, Winston Marshall with his bad ass banjo pickin’ and Elvis impersonated hip gyrations, and Ted Dwane keeping it extra real on standup bass, accompanied by a lively trio of horn blowers to compliment the group’s folksy, bluegrass style of music. The questions was, how can a stripped down folk group make a crowd of 75 000 people dance? Simple, just ask them.

“Shall we dance, Coachella?” asked Mumford before breaking into,

Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man

How can you catch the ear of a sea of fans screaming for more? Easy, play something softer and make them listen. If you know the true Mumford & Sons style, there’s always the calm before the storm. The band plays the soft parts with equal effectiveness as the louder parts because the listener know that around any corner, one can always expect a crescendo of banjoes, horn and bass drum to get ya moving. They played this song perfectly,

Mumford And Sons – Sigh No More

The main reason I liked watching this group play is because they genuinely looked like they were having fun playing with one another. In interviews, they express attraction to a culture of personal connection with audience members and “downsizing”.  What does that mean exactly? Well they want you the listener to contribute as a lively part of their musical experience, not just some passive bystander that’s there to hear the music and leave.  They asked the crowd to dance yet again, except this time it called for a waltz,

Mumford And Sons – Winter Winds

They played some new songs in their set too, take a listen. This one’s called Lover’s Eyes,

Andy by far my favorite track, @ 2:52, oh shit yeah

With only one album under their belt and an enormous crowd to entertain, I think they did a great job making their set as inclusive as possible. All group members are multi-talented instrumentalist and I see some great chemistry within the group dynamics by exchanging instrumental parts between band members, kinda similar to what The Band did back in the day. All in all, Mumford & Sons put on a very enjoyable experience and expect to hear more from them in the future.

Mumford & Sons have more touring ahead before they hit the studio to record their next album. Next week on April 21st, they will travel to Oakland to kick off their six-date Railroad Revival Tour with Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show. “We like to keep the live thing going, because that’s what we love the most,” said Mumford. “We’re not the kind of band that can close ourselves off to make this masterpiece record. We really find it helpful to play the songs live, so this is the best kind of preparation to record a new album.”

Mumford & Sons – Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show cover)

Mumford & Sons are on fire and it appears that these gentleman of the road will continue to ride this hot streak with cool heads and steady hands.