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Mumford & Sons


Mumford & Sons are a folk rock band which formed in London, England. The band is made up of Marcus Mumford (vocals, guitar, drums, mandolin), "Country" Winston Marshall (vocals, banjo, dobro), Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboards, accordion), and Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass). Although the band members have certain claims on certain instruments, the members switch instruments during live shows according to convenience, for they each play a variety of instruments. The band formed in late 2007, rising out of London's folk scene with other artists such as Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn, Jay Jay Pistolet and Noah and the Whale.

The band has often supported Laura Marling at concerts, while their association with Noah and the Whale can be traced back to St Paul's School, Barnes and King's College School, Wimbledon. Mumford and Lovett attended King's College School alongside Noah and the Whale bassist Matt Owens, while Marshall attended St Paul's School along with Charlie Fink, lead singer of Noah and the Whale.

Mumford & Sons performing at Dot to Dot Festival in Bristol on May 23, 2009.

The band's debut album, Sigh No More, was released in the United Kingdom in October 2009, and February 2010 in the United States.

In February 2008, the band completed an extensive UK tour with support from Alessi's Ark, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Peggy Sue, Pete Roe, The Cutaway and more. They were longlisted for the BBC's Sound of 2009.

They toured with The Maccabees in May 2009.

Having recently[when?] signed a licensing deal to Island Records in the UK, to Dew Process in Australia and New Zealand, to Glassnote in North America and Co Op in the rest of the world, through their own label Gentlemen Of The Road, their debut album was released on 5 October 2009 with "Little Lion Man" being the lead single, Dave Berry of Xfm made it his record of the week. In another interview with the band, Dave said "Screw 'of the week', it's my favourite track of the year". BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe made "Little Lion Man" his "Reaction Record" on 27 July 2009, before naming it the "Hottest Record in the World" the following evening. In an interview during the show, Marcus confirmed the album would be titled Sigh No More, from the name of a track on the album. Radio 1 DJ Greg James is an avid supporter of the band, having had both "Little Lion Man" and "The Cave" as his record of the week.

Mumford & Sons won Best Band at the 3rd Annual BalconyTV Music Video Awards in Dublin on 3 July 2009.

The band has achieved considerable success in Australia. Their song "Little Lion Man" was voted number one on the Australian Triple J Hottest 100, 2009 countdown, the largest music poll in the world, by an unprecedentedly large margin. The band, who happened to be in the country at the time of the countdown, were also the first act to perform the number one song live especially for the station. The band played their hit Little Lion Man on CBS' The Late Show With David Letterman on 17 February, 2010, followed by a performance of The Cave on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 26 February, 2010.

In a March 2010 interview, Ray Davies announced that Mumford & Sons will be appearing on his forthcoming collaborations album. Marcus confirmed this in an interview the same month, stating, "I am more excited about that than I have been about anything before in my life"

They were listed as "Top Upcoming Band" of 2009 by James Lee Curtis of Radio Shack.