Photo by Eric Ashleigh | showtographe.com

The night of WXPN’s live broadcast with Mumford & Sons at the Susquehanna Bank Center (SBC) on Sunday, February 17th, the backstage area and loading dock at the SBC was brimming with a crew on site to film the new video for “Whispers In The Dark.” You can watch the video below. It features Marcus Mumford riding his motorcycle up the ramp of the loading dock (scary!), some footage shot at the Aquarium and the Battleship New Jersey. It also features a guest appearance from Haim who opened the show that night.

A week ago, music blog Stereogum weighed in on the “secret weapon” of Mumford and Sons: frontman Marcus Mumford’s right foot. Or, more specifically, the kick drum at the front of the stage that keeps time on the majority of the band’s songs.

Seeing them perform night one of a sold-out two-night stand at Susquehanna Bank Center last night, it was immediately evident how integral that kick drum is. For a pop-rock band with folksy instrumentation (upright bass, banjo, acoustic guitar), the London band sounded more massive with just its four core members – Mumford, banjo player Winston Marshall, keyboardist Ben Lovett and bassist Ted Dwane – then it did with the horns and strings and full-kit percussionists that joined them on the set centerpieces like “Lover of the Light.”

Foot-stomp beats are common in the folk revival – from Philly’s Hoots and Hellmouth and Columbus, Ohio’s Saintseneca up to bigger names like The Avett Brothers. With Mumford, it breaks through to another plane. On those scaled-back moments, the beat was at its strongest; pulsing, resonant and easy to get swept away in.

Maybe they just happen to be in possession of the best kick drum microphone on earth. Or maybe it’s Mumford’s way of keeping things direct and engaging for the crowd. Their folk-pop peers The Lumineers, we saw a few weeks ago, are the band everyone sings along to. Mumford and Sons are the band everyone claps along to – and the kick guides their way.

The setlist was lively and diverse, mixing the band’s trademark high-drama crescendos (the opening one-two punch of “Babel” and “Little Lion Man”) with quiet breathers (the nearly a capella “Timshel” and its lovely four-part harmonies) and moments of utter bombast (the minor key “Thistle and Weeds”, where video screens atop the stage made it possible to watch sweat bead up on Mumford’s forehead in black and white HD). The loudest numbers necessitated the greatest recovery periods, and the band would take longs pauses between many songs. But the crowd had their back – clapping in time over the silence, awaiting the next kick drum entry.

“Holland Road” was a high point, combining Mumford’s brooding, dramatic tendencies with an affirmative melody on the refrain; “Roll Away Your Stone” had a hoedown energy to it, with Lovett and Dwane leaping in the air on either side of the stage; and the bright “Whispers in the Dark” was a crowd-pleaser, with lots of hands in the air and hand-made signs being waved around. (Reportedly, a music video for “Whispers” was being filmed at this show.) “Dust Bowl Ballad” ended the main set on kind of a downer, Mumford behind the full kit bashing out intense, cave man beats under deep red light. But the encore revived the mood.

After early hit single “The Cave,” the band brought opening acts Ben Howard and Haim out on stage. “Well, we’re technically in New Jersey,” Mumford said – he was minimally conversational all night, mostly just chatting to point out that they knew they were in Camden and not Philly – and with that final acknowledgement, they launched into an eight-minute, elegant jam on Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City,” swapping verses and instrumental solos while the crowd sang (and clapped) along. Tune in to WXPN tonight beginning at 8 p.m. to hear a broadcast of tonight’s Mumford and Sons concert.

Setlist
Babel
Little Lion Man
Winter Winds
Below My Feet
White Blank Page
Hopeless Wanderer
Timshel
I Will Wait
Lover of the Light
Thistle and Weeds
Ghosts That We Knew
For Those Below
Roll Away Your Stone
Whispers In The Dark
Dust Bowl Dance

The Cave
Atlantic City

Photo by Rachel Del Sordo

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When London folk revivalists Mumford & Sons announced their two-night stand at Susquehanna Bank Center shortly after their sophomore LP Babel dropped in the fall, both shows sold out in seconds. For those who didn’t get tickets, WXPN is broadcasting the band’s set on Sunday night the 17th in its entirety. The night begins at 8 p.m. with host Mike Vasilikos live from the Susquehanna Bank Center while Haim and Ben Howard warm up the crowd. When Mumford goes on, we turn the airwaves over to the stage as the band works through songs from Babel and its 2009 debut Sigh No More. Tune in on the radio at 88.5 FM in Philadelphia or online at XPN.org. Below, check out a video of the band performing “I Will Wait” sold-out show at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn – clearly, the local crowd is in for a high energy mass-singalong whether it’s on-air on in the flesh.

The British folk-rock band that captured our hearts with the song “The Cave”, Mumford & Sons, have announced that their next album, Babel, will be released on Glassnote Records on September 25th. Just like “The Cave” was just the tip of the iceberg with their debut, Sigh No More, we can only imagine the music on the new album will be just as caring, thoughtful, and beautifully written. Below you can watch the video of Mumford & Sons playing with Dawes at World Cafe’s 20th Anniversary Concert. Dawes will be playing at our XPoNential Music Festival at the River Stage this Friday.

You can pre-order Babel through their website beginning this Saturday, July 23rd. Check out the track listing and a teaser video below.

1. Babel
2. Whispers In The Dark
3. I Will Wait
4. Holland Road
5. Ghosts That We Knew
6. Lover Of The Light
7. Lovers’ Eyes
8. Reminder
9. Hopeless Wanderer
10. Broken Crown
11. Below My Feet
12. Not With Haste

Photo by Doug Seymour

Also below: An interview with Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith about the performance.

Dawes with Mumford & Sons – When My Time Comes from WXPN FM on Vimeo.

Taylor Goldsmith talks about playing with Mumford & Sons from WXPN FM on Vimeo.

Dave Watts

Communion Records, the UK record label co-founded by Ben Lovett of MumfordAand Sons, has its origin in a live-music night started in 2006 at London’s Notting Hill Arts Club. As the success of the live events grew, Lovett decided to start the label in 2009. The Communion music scene has been central to the UK new folk revival which included bands like Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling, Noah And The Whale, and Peggy Sue.

When Lovett was in town with Mumford And Sons this past Saturday to perform at the World Cafe 20th Anniversary tribute concert, he talked about the Communion tour here in the States. The tour, featuring the London-based Matthew And The Atlas, Ohio’s The David Mayfield Parade, and California-based Lauren Shera is in Philadelphia on Wednesday, November 9th at World Cafe Live. “We’re excited that American audiences can get to hear some of these artists. There is a definite vibe to the kind of music we’re doing—the shows, the records—that we think music fans will get in to.” Below, check out a video from each of the bands performing at the show at World Cafe Live Upstairs. Showtime is 9 p.m.; advance tickets to the show are $15 in advance, $18 day of show.