Mumford & Sons facts for kids

Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons performing in 2015. From left to right: Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall, and Ted Dwane.
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Folk rock alternative rock indie folk Americana country bluegrass
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Gentlemen of the Road Island Glassnote Dew Process
Associated acts	Alabama Shakes Moulettes
Members	Marcus Mumford Ted Dwane Ben Lovett
Past members	Winston Marshall

Mumford & Sons is a popular English folk rock band that started in London in 2007. The band's main members are Marcus Mumford (who sings and plays guitar and drums), Ted Dwane (who sings and plays bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (who sings and plays keyboards and piano).

The band has released five studio albums. These include Sigh No More (2009), Babel (2012), Wilder Mind (2015), Delta (2018), and Rushmere (2025). Their first album, Sigh No More, became very popular in the UK and the US. Later albums like Babel, Wilder Mind, and Delta all reached number one in the US. Babel was even the fastest-selling rock album of its time.

Mumford & Sons has won many music awards. Sigh No More won a Brit Award for Best British Album in 2011. The band also received several Grammy Award nominations. A special performance at the 2011 Grammy ceremony with Bob Dylan and The Avett Brothers made them even more famous in the US. For their album Babel, they won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 2013, they won the Brit Award for Best British Group. They also received an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement in 2014.

Band History and Beginnings (2007–2009)

Mumford & Sons was formed in late 2007. The original members were Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, and Winston Marshall. The band members play many instruments. These include acoustic guitar, drums, keyboards, and bass guitar. They also use traditional folk instruments like the banjo, mandolin, and resonator guitar.

The band's name came from Marcus Mumford. He was the most active member in organizing the band and their shows. Ben Lovett said the name was meant to sound like an "old family business."

Around the same time, other similar bands were becoming known in West London. People sometimes called this the "West London folk scene." However, Marcus Mumford said it was more of a "community" than a "scene." He explained that a few folk bands just happened to be in the same area. Their music has been compared to artists like Noah and the Whale and Laura Marling.

In early 2008, the band started working with manager Adam Tudhope. He helped them connect with Louis Bloom from Island Records. Bloom watched the band grow, seeing them gain more fans with each show.

In February 2008, the band toured a lot in the UK. They also played at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2008. They toured Australia with Laura Marling, which helped Marcus Mumford learn to interact more with the audience. Their first music project was an EP (a short album) called Love Your Ground. It took a year to make and was released in November 2008.

Sigh No More Album Success (2009–2012)

From 2008 to 2009, Mumford & Sons played in many small and medium-sized places in the UK and US. They shared songs from Love Your Ground and new music that would be on their first full album, Sigh No More. They recorded Sigh No More with producer Markus Dravs. The band members even paid for the album themselves. This helped them avoid making artistic changes that sometimes happen with studio-funded projects. Only one song from Love Your Ground, "Little Lion Man", was included on Sigh No More.

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

In August 2009, Mumford & Sons signed deals with different record labels around the world. Their debut album, Sigh No More, was released on October 5, 2009. "Little Lion Man" was the first song released from it.

"Little Lion Man" quickly became very popular on radio stations. BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe called it the "Hottest Record in the World." The band performed "Little Lion Man" on Late Show with David Letterman in February 2010. They also played "The Cave" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

The band became very successful in Australia and New Zealand. "Little Lion Man" was voted the top song of 2009 on the Triple J Hottest 100 list. In November 2010, they won an ARIA Music Award for Most Popular International Artist. Sigh No More reached number one on the New Zealand charts in January 2011.

Marcus Mumford and Winston Marshall on stage in Brighton, 4 October 2010

In December 2010, Mumford & Sons were nominated for Grammy Awards. They performed their song "The Cave" at the Grammy ceremony. This performance helped Sigh No More sell much more in the US. The album then reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200.

In December 2010, the band released an EP with Dharohar Project and Laura Marling. They recorded it in India with traditional Rajasthani musicians. Sigh No More has sold millions of copies, earning 4 times Platinum in the UK and 2 times Platinum in the US.

In February 2011, they won a European Border Breakers Award for their international success. They also won a Brit Award for British Album of the Year for Sigh No More. While touring the US in early 2011, the band started writing songs for their next album.

In April 2011, the group joined Old Crow Medicine Show and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros for the first Railroad Revival Tour. They traveled by vintage train cars and performed in different outdoor places. This trip was made into a musical documentary called Big Easy Express. The film won "Best Long Form Video" at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

Mumford & Sons played at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2011. They also recorded two songs for the movie Wuthering Heights. In June 2012, they contributed the song "Learn Me Right" with Birdy to the Pixar film Brave.

Babel Album Release (2012–2014)

Mumford & Sons released their second studio album, Babel, on September 24, 2012. The album had 12 songs, plus three extra songs on a deluxe version. The first song from the album, "I Will Wait", was released on August 7. On August 29, 2012, the band recorded their concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. This concert was later released as "Road to Red Rocks" on DVD and iTunes. They also performed "I Will Wait" and "Below My Feet" on Saturday Night Live.

Mumford & Sons performing at the 2013 Brit Awards held at the O2 Arena in London, 20 February 2013

Babel quickly became number one on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. It was the fastest-selling album of 2012 in the UK. It also sold over a million copies worldwide in its first week. Babel was nominated for a Brit Award and a Grammy Award, winning the Grammy.

In June 2013, during their tour, bassist Ted Dwane had a health issue. He needed surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. The band had to cancel some shows for his recovery. Luckily, Ted's surgery was successful. The band was able to headline the 2013 Glastonbury Festival on June 30, and their performance was highly praised.

The band continued their "Gentlemen of the Road" tour, which included special two-day festivals in smaller towns. These festivals featured other bands like The Vaccines and Vampire Weekend. After the Babel tour, Mumford & Sons took a five-month break. They returned to the studio in February 2014 to start working on their third album.

Wilder Mind and New Sounds (2015–2017)

On February 27, 2015, the band shared a video teasing new music. On March 2, 2015, they announced their third album, Wilder Mind, would be released on May 4, 2015. The first song, "Believe", was released on March 9. They also announced new "Gentleman of the Road Stopovers" festivals for Summer 2015.

Mumford & Sons played their first live shows for Wilder Mind in Hackney, London, in March 2015. They played new songs from the album. The second song from Wilder Mind, "The Wolf", was released on April 9, 2015.

The band confirmed their return on January 14, 2015, by announcing they would headline the 2015 Bonnaroo Music Festival. They also headlined the Reading & Leeds Festivals in 2015. More tour dates were added for the UK and Ireland.

Mumford & Sons promoted their new album with many TV appearances and radio shows. They played on The Graham Norton Show, Saturday Night Live, and Late Show with David Letterman. On April 13, 2015, they announced a 16-date North America tour.

For Record Store Day on April 18, 2015, the band let fans listen to Wilder Mind on vinyl record before its release. They also released a special 7-inch record of "Believe"/"The Wolf." Wilder Mind was released on May 4, 2015, and debuted at number one in the UK, US, and Australia. On June 17, 2016, Mumford & Sons released an EP called Johannesburg.

Delta Album and Changes (2018–2020)

On September 20, 2018, the band released a new song, "Guiding Light". This introduced their new album, Delta. The second song, "If I Say", came out on October 25. Delta was released on November 16, 2018. It featured other artists like Maggie Rogers and Yebba. The album was produced by Paul Epworth and recorded in London.

On October 23, 2019, the band released "Blind Leading the Blind". This song was recorded during the Delta sessions but wasn't finished in time for the album.

To mark the end of the Delta Tour, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, the band released a six-song live EP called Delta Tour EP. It included live versions of songs like "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails and "With a Little Help from My Friends" by the Beatles.

Band Member Changes and New Music (2021–Present)

In March 2021, Winston Marshall, a band member, shared some opinions on social media that caused a lot of discussion. He later apologized and announced he was taking time away from the band. On June 24, 2021, Marshall explained that he was leaving Mumford & Sons. He wanted to be able to share his thoughts on different topics without affecting his bandmates and their families.

On September 16, 2022, Marcus Mumford released his first solo album, Self-Titled. It included songs like "Cannibal" and "Grace". In late November 2022, Mumford hinted that the band was planning to work on a new album together.

The band performed a new song called "Maybe" live on August 26, 2023. On January 16, 2024, they released "Good People", a song made with Pharrell Williams. This was the band's first new music since Winston Marshall left.

Rushmere Album (2025)

On January 15, 2025, Mumford & Sons announced their first album in seven years, Rushmere. It was released on March 28, 2025. The announcement came with a trailer that showed snippets of new music and behind-the-scenes studio footage. The main song from the album, also called "Rushmere", was released two days later on January 17. The band confirmed that the song and album were co-produced by Dave Cobb.

The band also relaunched the Railroad Revival Tour in the summer of 2025. They played at venues along the East Coast of the United States with other folk musicians.

Musical Style and Influences

The band members play multiple instruments in live performances. Here Marcus Mumford sits at a drum kit.

Mumford & Sons is known as a folk rock band. They started by using instruments common in bluegrass and folk music. Their main instruments were acoustic guitar, banjo, piano, and a double bass. They played with a rhythmic style that mixed alternative rock and folk.

Marcus Mumford has said that Old Crow Medicine Show greatly influenced him. He heard their music when he was a teenager and it made him love folk and bluegrass music. He also mentioned that the band inspired them to pick up the banjo.

Many of Mumford & Sons' song lyrics are inspired by books and literature. For example, their first album, Sigh No More, got its name from a line in William Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. The song "Sigh No More" includes lines from the play. The song "Roll Away Your Stone" refers to Shakespeare's Macbeth. "The Cave" has references to The Odyssey and G. K. Chesterton's book St. Francis of Assisi. Songs like "Timshel" and "Dust Bowl Dance" are inspired by John Steinbeck's novels, including Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.

The band's sound changed on their third album, Wilder Mind. Ben Lovett described this as a "natural change." After the Babel tour, Winston Marshall started playing electric guitar, and Marcus Mumford played more drums. The banjo, which was a key instrument for them, was not used on Wilder Mind. The band also started using a full drum kit instead of just a kick drum. Lovett said they felt it was time to try new things and use different instruments.

Working with producer James Ford for Wilder Mind was part of this new approach. Lovett explained that they wanted to try something different after working with Markus Dravs on their first two albums.

Lyrical Themes and Spirituality

Many of Mumford & Sons' songs seem to have themes and images related to faith, sometimes from the Christian tradition. Songs like "Believe", "Guiding Light", and "Roll Away Your Stone" have been noted for these connections. Marcus Mumford grew up in a Christian home, as his parents led a church.

However, Marcus Mumford has said that he doesn't call himself a Christian. He has separated himself from the "culture of Christianity." He prefers to use the word "spirituality" to describe his journey. He stated that the band's songs are not about his return to Christian faith. He said, "We're fans of faith, not religion."

Other Projects

In 2009, the band started Gentlemen of the Road. This is a company that promotes live music, runs a record label, and organizes the "Stopover Festivals" around the world. These festivals often happen in smaller towns that bands don't usually visit. The goal is to bring money to these places and help local businesses. The band chooses the other artists who perform at these festivals. Some bands that have played include Foo Fighters, The Flaming Lips, and The Vaccines.

Band Members

Discography

• Sigh No More (2009)
• Babel (2012)
• Wilder Mind (2015)
• Delta (2018)
• Rushmere (2025)

Tours

• Sigh No More Tour (2009–12)
• Railroad Revival Tour (2011, 2025)
• Babel Tour (2012–13)
• Wilder Mind Tour (2015–18)
• Delta Tour (2018–20)
• Summer Tour '23
• Rushmere Tour (2025)

Awards and Nominations

Mumford & Sons have received many awards, including:

• ARIA Music Awards 2010, Most Popular International Artist
• Q Awards 2010, Best New Act
• UK Festival Awards 2010, Breakthrough Artist
• Americana Music Honors & Awards 2011, Emerging Artist of the Year
• Billboard Music Award 2011, Top Rock Album (for Sigh No More)
• Billboard Music Award 2011, Top Alternative Album (for Sigh No More)
• Billboard Music Award 2011, Top Alternative Artist
• Brit Awards 2011, British Album of the Year (for Sigh No More)
• Billboard Music Awards 2013, Top Rock Album (for Babel)
• Brit Awards 2013, British Group
• Echo Music Prize 2013, International Rock/Pop Group
• Grammy Award 2013, Album of the Year (for Babel)
• Grammy Award 2013, Best Music Film (for Big Easy Express)
• Juno Award 2013, International Album of the Year
• Ivor Novello Awards 2014, International Achievement
• UK Americana Awards 2018, Trailblazer Award

See also

In Spanish: Mumford & Sons para niños