Mumford & Sons are an English folk rock band formed in Greater London. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, guitar, drums), Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboards), and Ted Dwane (vocals, bass, guitar).
Mumford & Sons have released six studio albums: Sigh No More (2009), Babel (2012), Wilder Mind (2015), Delta (2018), Rushmere (2025), and Prizefighter (2026). Their debut, Sigh No More, peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and the Billboard 200 in the US, with Babel, Wilder Mind, and Delta all debuting at number one in the US, the former becoming the fastest-selling rock album of the decade and leading to a headline performance at Glastonbury Festival in 2013.
The band has won music awards throughout their career, with Sigh No More earning the band the Brit Award for Best British Album in 2011, a Mercury Prize nomination and six overall Grammy Award nominations. The live performance at the 2011 Grammy ceremony with Bob Dylan and The Avett Brothers led to a surge in popularity for the band in the US. The band received eight total Grammy nominations for Babel and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The band also won the Brit Award for Best British Group in 2013 and an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement in 2014.
History Early years (2007–2009) Mumford & Sons was formed in December 2007 by multi-instrumentalists Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, and Winston Marshall. Band members play acoustic guitar, drums, keyboard instruments, bass guitar, and traditional folk instruments such as banjo, mandolin and resonator guitar. The band name originates from Marcus Mumford being the most visible member, organising the band and their performances. Lovett indicated that the name was meant to evoke the sense of an "antiquated family business name".Collis, Clark (4 March 2011). "Mumford and Sons: Ben Lovett talks about playing with Dylan, recording with Ray Davies, and high-fiving R. Kelly". Entertainment Weekly Music Mix. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
Mumford and Sons were amongst a handful of similar southern English bands who were increasing their visibility in West London around the same time, giving rise to the label "West London folk scene". Mumford downplays that characterisation as an exaggeration—Mumford & Sons and a few other folk acts just happened to be operating in the same general area at the time. In an interview with the Herald Sun, Marcus Mumford said, "It's not folk really. Well, some of it is, and it's certainly not a scene. Someone got over-excited about a few bands who live in a hundred-mile radius and put it in a box to sell it as a package. It's a community, not a scene. It's not exclusive." Having developed in the same musical and cultural environment, Mumford & Sons' sound has been compared to that of artists such as Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn or Laura Marling, whose backing band had included Marshall, Mumford, and Dwane.Walker, Tim (28 July 2008). "Mumford & Sons, The Luminaire, London". The Independent. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
In early 2008, the band began working with manager Adam Tudhope, who, as part of management company Everybody's, also represents Keane and Laura Marling. It was through Tudhope's connection that Mumford & Sons was exposed to their future A&R at Island, Louis Bloom, who began monitoring the band. Bloom told HitQuarters that they were still at a fledgling state and not yet ready for a label deal: "There was no one there for it, just a few friends, and they needed time to develop. Over the next six months I kept going to see them and they were literally picking up fans every time."
In February 2008, the band completed an extensive UK tour with support from Alessi's Ark, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Peggy Sue and others. June 2008 marked the band's first appearance at the Glastonbury Festival. They also toured Australia with Laura Marling, whose disinclination to interact with audiences encouraged Mumford into the spotlight. The experience helped inform his attitude towards Mumford & Sons audiences, which is to interact frequently and to try to create a comfortable, casual atmosphere.Betts, Marianne (25 March 2010). "Mumford & Sons have taken Australia by storm". Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 January 2011. Mumford & Sons' first project was an EP entitled Love Your Ground which took a year to complete and was released in November 2008 on Chess Club Records.
Sigh No More and Babel (2009–2014)
Throughout 2008 and into 2009, Mumford & Sons performed in small to moderate venues in the UK and US, exposing audiences to Love Your Ground tracks and other material that would eventually become Sigh No More. The band finally recorded Sigh No More with Markus Dravs, who had produced albums with artists such as Arcade Fire. At the time, band members did not even own their own instruments—Dravs initially turned them away when they showed up at the recording sessions empty-handed. The only track from Love Your Ground to be included on Sigh No More was "Little Lion Man". The band told the Herald Sun that they self-financed the album to avoid the artistic and technical compromises that sometimes befall studio-financed projects. They toured again in support of Laura Marling in 2009, and Mumford & Sons contributed musicians to her 2010 album I Speak Because I Can.
In August 2009, Mumford & Sons signed a licensing deal to Island Records in the UK, to Dew Process in Australia and New Zealand, to Glassnote Records in North America and Cooperative Music in the rest of the world, and through its own label Gentlemen of the Road. Dew Process boss Paul Piticco signed the band after witnessing a US performance in 2009 and appreciating their "honest" approach and unique sound. Their debut album was released on 5 October 2009 with "Little Lion Man" as the lead single. Dave Berry of XFM named "Little Lion Man" his record of the week, and in another interview with the band, Berry said "Screw 'of the week', it's my favourite track of the year." BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe made "Little Lion Man" his "Reaction Record" on 27 July 2009, before naming it the "Hottest Record in the World" the following evening.
In their first performance on US network television, the band played "Little Lion Man" on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman on 17 February 2010. This appearance was followed by a performance of "The Cave" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 26 February 2010. Mumford & Sons have been commercially successful in Australia and New Zealand. By January 2010, "Little Lion Man" topped the Triple J Hottest 100 list for all of 2009, with its margin of victory the largest in the history of the chart.Gregg, Natalie (27 January 2010). "Aussies rock in Triple J's Hottest 100". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 21 February 2011. In November 2010, the band won an ARIA Music Award for Most Popular International Artist.Collett-White, Mike (20 November 2010). "Mumford & Sons top ARIA Awards". Billboard 122 (46): p. 32. Sigh No More first reached number 9 on the New Zealand charts in October 2010, and subsequently topped the chart in January 2011 due to the popularity of the singles from the album."International Charts: Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More rallies around globe". Music Week: p. 28 (22 January 2011).
In a March 2010 interview, Ray Davies announced that Mumford & Sons would be appearing on his forthcoming collaborations album.Uricheck, Mark (15 March 2010). "THE MUSICIAN'S VOICE: A Chat With The Legendary Ray Davies". Themusiciansvoice.blogspot.com. Retrieved 24 January 2011. Marcus Mumford confirmed this in an interview the same month, stating, "I am more excited about that than I have been about anything before in my life". Mumford & Sons performed the track "Days/This Time Tomorrow" along with Davies on 12 February 2010 on Later... with Jools Holland on the BBC. In December 2010, Mumford & Sons earned Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song ("Little Lion Man"). While they did not go on to win an award, the band performed their single "The Cave" at the Grammy ceremony. The performance earned positive media attention and boosted visibility for Sigh No More—US sales increased by 99% in the period following the ceremony in February 2011.Gundersen, Edna (24 February 2011). "A Grammy performance is good for business". USA Today. Retrieved 6 March 2011. The album subsequently peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and the Billboard 200 in the US.
On 7 December 2010, in collaboration with Dharohar Project and Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons released an EP album recorded in Delhi, India. The album was recorded in a makeshift studio with traditional Rajasthani musicians and features four collaborations, including multicultural mash-ups of Marling's "Devil's Spoke" and Mumford & Sons' "To Darkness." Sigh No More is certified 4× Platinum in the UK, and 2× Platinum in the US. The band continued to grow in popularity in 2011, winning several major awards and headlining larger shows and festivals. In February 2011, they received a European Border Breakers Award for their international success. They received a Brit Award for British Album of the Year with Sigh No More and performed "Timshel" at the ceremony. UK sales of the album subsequently increased by 266 per cent. While touring the United States in early 2011, the band began writing songs for the follow-up album. Keyboardist Ben Lovett credited the creative atmosphere of Nashville, Tennessee with easing the songwriting process.Montgomery, James (17 February 2011). "Mumford & Sons write Sigh No More follow-up while touring US". MTV. Retrieved 7 March 2011. While performing in Kansas City, Missouri on 3 June, the first stop of their US tour, the band announced they had been recording a new album, initially set to be released in late 2011.
In April 2011, the group joined Old Crow Medicine Show and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros on the inaugural Railroad Revival Tour, which was inspired by the Festival Express tour across Canada in 1970 that included Buddy Guy, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead and The Band. Travelling exclusively in vintage rail cars, the three bands performed in six "unique outdoor locations" over the course of a week starting in Oakland, California. Ketch Secor of Old Crow told American Songwriter that "It's like we left all our baggage at home and just brought our instruments", often writing new songs while on the train. "We were just on these old rattling rails. It was a railroad odyssey that would have made Woody and Doc tip their hats and blow their whistles," he says. They appear in the musical documentary Big Easy Express, directed by Emmett Malloy, being made of the trip which premiered March 2012 at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW Film) in Austin, Texas"SXSW Film Announces 2012 Features Lineup; 'Big Easy Express' to Close Festival" by Nigel M. Smith, IndieWire.com; 1 February 2012.—winning the Headliner Audience Award.Fernandez, Jay A. (19 March 2012). "SXSW 2012: 'Big Easy Express' Wins Headliner Audience Award: Emmett Malloy's film follows folk rock bands on the road" The Hollywood Reporter. The film went on to win "Best Long Form Video" at the 2013 Grammy Awards. Mumford & Sons played at the Glastonbury Festival on Friday 24 June 2011, and then embarked on a North American tour on which they frequently performed songs from the upcoming album. They recorded two songs for Andrea Arnold's adaptation of Wuthering Heights, one of which (entitled "Enemy") is featured during the closing credits. In June 2012, Mumford & Sons contributed the song "Learn Me Right" with Birdy to the Pixar film Brave.