Review: The Mumford & Sons UK tour

For Folk’s Sake’s writers are such massive Mumford fans we couldn’t limit ourselves to one review of the tour. Jo Legg covers the Bath show, while Sandy McKee caught the Cheltenham gig… and there’s more to follow!

Moles Club, Bath
Last night I cried into the back of a stranger. Not just little tears, but great big gulping ungainly breathy sobs (sorry nice woman with dark hair…). At the same time, a tall man to my right was crying more quietly into the hair of his partner. People to the left of me cried, people in front of me cried, people behind me cried, and the man we were all looking at cried too. Certainly, Moles is a small venue, but I’m really not quite sure that sleepy Wednesday night Bath has ever seen anything like it. It would appear, though, that full volume, in person Mumford and Sons is too much for anyone to cope with without shedding at least a tear or two.

They opened with ‘Sigh No More’, and by the time they followed with ‘Little Lion Man’ I do believe that at least three quarters of the sell-out audience had experienced some kind of awe-struck sensory overload. The set was peppered with new songs, among them ‘Honour’ a stand-out performance. New single ‘The Cave’ was exceptionally well received, though the biggest roar of the night was reserved for a jaw-dropping rendition of ‘Roll Away Your Stone’. 

Effortlessly charming, and quite simply spectacular. If you’ve not caught them live yet get your skates on quickly, there’s still a week or so of tour left. JL

The Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham Spa.
When it comes to being romantic, I must say I don’t usually deliver. With the added pressure of Valentines Day, I needed something special to present its self to save me from disappointing yet again. Salvation came in the form of Mumford and Sons. 

In the cosy setting of the Barn at the rear of local student watering hole, The Frog & Fiddle, The Sons delivered a breathtaking set from start to finish. With the walls decked out with big love hearts, balloons and tacky valentines décor, Marcus, Winnie, Ted and Ben brought a welcome set of their beautifully soulful songs including standout tracks from their debut EP and Autumnal release – Love Your Ground. 

After opening with the lyrically astounding Sigh No More, they also played favourites White Blank Page and the undeniably infectious Little Lion Man. Notable voids in the set list included Roll Away Your Stone from their debut EP and forthcoming single The Cave, however they did do a cracking cover of fellow West Londoners and friends, White Lies’ Unfinished Business.

At times, the sound in the venue wasn’t quite up to scratch prompting the lads to go completely acoustic for a couple of songs, and at intervals, Winston brought his trademark wit to the evening – he’s the gag man, the others must be more character-based humour. 

Finishing the evening in a true bluegrass style encore, Mumford & Sons made their way into the crowd for a real foot-stomping, hand-clapping hoe down. Brilliant. SM