It’s safe to say it’s been a jam-packed 15 months on the road for the Mumford & Sons boys. Touring their third album, Wilder Mind, Friday saw these folk-laded London lads touch down for the ultimate homecoming show. It was a line-up entirely curated by the band themselves; from The Strumbellas to Alabama Shakes, and Mystery Jets to Wolf Alice. There was sunshine (shock horror), booze a-plenty and enough barrel rolls Marcus Mumford to make you think he’d joined the circus (but more on that later).
Following Tuesday night’s show that saw Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen packed to its rafters, Canadian six-piece, The Strumbellas, kicked off the London festival in style. An early festival slot is never an easy feat, but with a winning combination of jovial strumming and uplifting choruses (a sound perfectly aligned with that of Mumford & Sons but with a trans-Atlantic twist), these guys made it seem easy. Followed soon after on The Summer Stage by Rukhsana Merrise, her cover of The Weekend‘s “I Can’t Feel My Face” is well worth mention.
Wolf Alice were a band to watch following their recent triumphant Glasto appearance, and disappoint they didn’t. “We’re thankful that Mumford And Sons selected us to be on the bill. It’s really cool of them to do that, because knowing that another band likes your music enough to have you play their festival is an absolute honour.” they commented to NME ahead of their main stage slot. Merging silky vocals with grit laden reverb, this is a band worthy of the Pyramid stage (Michael & Emily Eavis, I hope you’re listening).
With an abundance of stages to choose from, a shout out goes to the ever-entertaining Alabama Shakes, putting on a performance that can only be described as pure musical indulgence. Packed with enough soul to keep you satisfied until next years festival season comes around (tonight’s BST headliner, Stevie Wonder, is yet another bonus), this female fronted phenomenon is a must-have addition to your summer playlist.
In true Mumford & Sons fashion, it was a humble, no-frills entrance. The night began with the ever faithful “Snake Eyes”, however, the appearance of the foot-stomping track “Little Lion Man” was a little too early for our liking. Whisking the crowd into a do-si-do-ing frenzy, Hyde Park’s 65,000 strong capacity audience was certainly ready for more. It wasn’t long before the boys cracked out the big guns, “White Blank Page” made a prominent appearance, whilst “I Will Wait” sent the crowd into a mass sing-along that left Marcus Mumford grinning like an intoxicated Cheshire Cat.
Maybe it’s the years of excessive sound levels and overzealous headphone abusage, or simply down to the noise restrictions of built-up Central London, but the Hyde Park sound system seemed to lack the distinctive “umph” that really brings a band like Mumford to life. The storming pound of a bass drum was mellowed to a dull thud, and alongside a series of slower, distinctly sobering tracks that lacked any identifying features, the concert seemed to trail off somewhat…
“I haven’t seen such an ocean of people since Glastonbury,” he said halfway through the evening. “This is f**king awesome – thank you very much. We’ve been roaming around and roaming around and roaming around – and it feels amazing to be home at last.”
Baaba Mal, Beatenberg & The Very Best made a euphoric guest appearance following the bands recent Jo-berg recorded EP. Loving every second of their stage time, the performance was made all the more brilliant by a striking red velour suit, smiles a-plenty and spoonfuls of soul in this bold culture clash. Cracking out the electric guitars and turning up the amps, the boys careered head-first into their latest material, with the likes of “Wilder Mind” getting the crowd going once again. If this show were to be drawn on a graph, it would pretty much look like a giant U-shape.
“Ditmas” marked its territory as the most noteworthy new material of the Wilder Mind album. It’s no “I Will Wait” or “The Cave”, but it’s a live track that sets itself apart from the rest of the band’s new material.
And then Marcus Mumford tried crowd surfing.
Having parted the crowd like a modern day Moses, Mumford could be seen clambering onto a platform 30-meters or so out, lighting a flare in a semi-defiant move, and just as hastily throwing it at his feet. If only his return to The Great Oak Stage was as seamless. Surrounded by go-pro laden photographers and security a-plenty, he seemed to disappear (along with his vocals) around 15-meters from the stage. Upon resurfacing, the singer flung himself onto the shoulders of concert goers.
In his defense, he gave it a valiant effort. We’re talking four or five attempts. However, as the track came to an end with the stage still out of reach, the surfing ideal was soon replaced by that of a traditional English cheese rolling competition. Picking up speed, limbs flailing and shirt ripped wide open, Mumford attempted to get back to that stage by whatever means necessary.
It was a great night of music. Not groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination, but Mumford did what Mumford do best, pull out the hits in a flurry of feel-good, folk-laden delight.
