News Beat
REVIEW: Mumford and Sons, Leeds Arena – with photos
I FIRST saw Americana-tinged folk-rock group Mumford and Sons at York’s The Basement, City Screen, in January 2009, several months before the release of their platinum selling debut album Sigh No More.
The 80-strong crowd that night witnessed the raw talent of a band on the cusp of a rapid rise to stardom.
I saw the band at The Cockpit, Leeds later that same year, the sold-out 500 capacity venue reflecting their increased popularity.
Roll forwards 16 years and tonight saw the band’s triumphant return to the 14,000 capacity Leeds Arena for a third time in the past decade, a decade which has seen global success, band membership changes, and a rekindling of the band’s roots.
Singer Marcus Mumford opened the band’s 20-song set this evening with an apology “I’m sorry it’s taken so long, Leeds”, an acknowledgement to the band’s first tour in six years.
Tonight’s crowd appeared relieved that their wait to see Mumford and Sons again was over. The crowd was largely made up of fans wanting to hear the old hits. However, Mumford and Sons performed a mixed set of old and new as they opened and closed with the thunderous Run Together and ballad Conversation with My Son (Gangsters and Angels) respectively, both unreleased tracks from their February 2026 release, Prizefighter.
Despite their rich back catalogue of five albums, Mumford described their new material as the band’s favourite work to date. The risk of performing several previously unheard tracks paid off as the crowd lapped up every moment.
The six-piece backing band was superb, particularly the session banjo player who plugged that gap left by the removal of founding banjo-guitarist Winston Marshall in 2021 following his inappropriate far-right social media outbursts.
The quartet became a trio, the founding members Marcus Mumford, keyboardist Ben Lovett, and bassist Ted Dwane remaining united in friendship, vision, and sound. The band performed several fan favourites, the classic The Cave, the singalong Little Lion Man, the lyrically rich Babel and the choral Awake My Soul all gratefully received before their signature tune and penultimate song of the evening I Will Wait.
Tonight’s stage was spectacular as the lighting rig and canopy of stars and hearts lit up the tiered stage along with the spectacle of occasional pyrotechnics. The main stage was reshaped as a pop-up platform, created for the trio to gather around a single microphone to perform a beautiful version of Timshel as the crowd remained silent aside from the occasional scream.
Tonight’s performance was excellent, Mumford and Sons retaining the original sound and appeal of their early days and yet adding a more mature and rockier part to their sound.
Marcus Mumford expressed his gratitude to his fans for their loyalty and patience and promised to be back. So, as the Museum Gardens offers high quality bands to sold-out 5,000 capacity crowds during summer evenings, Mumford and Sons might welcome an invitation to return to York in support of their new album.
