Mumford & Sons performed at Nationwide Arena Sunday. Credit: Audrey Coleman | Managing Editor for Design
The last time Mumford & Sons toured was in 2020 and all four members were still in the group. Now, five years later and with a brand-new album, the folk-rock group made their return to the stage as a trio.
Mumford & Sons debuted their first album, "Sigh No More," in 2009, with hit songs like "Little Lion Man," "White Blank Page" -- which is resurging on TikTok -- and "I Will Wait," which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2013.
The group released three more albums between 2012 and 2018 before taking a seven-year hiatus. In March 2025, the band released "Rushmere," paired with both U.S. and European tours.
The band performed Sunday at Nationwide Arena with a 20-song setlist mixed with recent and old songs, playing for both new and long-time fans.
The Barr Brothers and Stephen Sanchez were opening acts.
The Barr Brothers are an indie-folk band with a sound reminiscent of bands such as The Lumineers and Gregory Alan Isakov. Their five-song set consisted of their top song, "Even The Darkness Has Arms," and two songs from their upcoming album, "Let It Hiss."
Most of the crowd hadn't filtered in when they started, but the energy was there among those on the floor. They started right at 7 p.m., which is mildly unusual for a concert, but timeliness is never disliked in a performance setting.
After a brief break, Sanchez came to the stage, opening with "Only Girl" and immediately going into "Shake."
Sanchez channeled a performance style similar to that of Elvis. Sanchez also sang an unreleased song titled "Love, Love, Love," which touches on the current state of the world.
Sanchez ended the set with the song that pushed him into the spotlight back in 2022: "Until I Found You." The single went viral on TikTok towards the end of the COVID-19 quarantine and has since made its imprint on millennial wedding playlists.
Coming onto the stage around 9 p.m., Mumford & Sons opened with "Run Together," an unreleased song that feels like it could easily have come from the "Sigh No More" or "Babel" albums.
Each member of the group was dressed in very casual wear -- T-shirts, open button-downs and jeans -- all things that made the show feel very intimate and genuine. This wasn't meant to be a show-stopping performance; the set was curated with the intent to make their touring return feel natural and genuine.
The next six songs came from each album, with catchy songs such as "Little Lion Man" and "Lover of the Light" being played early on, versus making fans wait to hear the most popular songs at the end.
The first half of the set ended with "Truth," the band's most rock-forward song from "Rushmere." Paired with the chorus, "There's a fire in the almost places / Leaves us nowhere else to go / If there's a fire in the almost places," the stage lit up with pyrotechnics, an element that felt fitting for the song but mildly out of place for the vibe the band goes for overall.
The group then transitioned to the B stage, which is a smaller platform across the arena. Three songs were performed acoustically, even though the original recordings were more instrument-heavy.
The lights on the main stage dimmed, and the only illumination came from floor spotlights on the platform and strings of warm LED lights hung from the rafters.
Fans also got a personal interaction with Marcus Mumford, the lead singer, when he touched on his familial connections to Columbus and even called out "O-H!" before heading back to the main stage.
With the second half of the set, the band focused on performing their older songs, such as "White Blank Page," "Ditmas" and "The Cave."
During "Ditmas," Mumford ran throughout the crowd, making his way into lower-bowl sections 108 and 109, all while performing the song with high energy.
After returning to the microphone stand, the band closed out with "The Wolf," an upbeat song from their third album "Wilder Mind," playing heavily into aggressive drums and guitar instrumentals.
Yet within five minutes, the trio made their way back on stage for the encore performance.
Their first addition was a stripped-down version of "Timshel," with all three members around one microphone. The audience was mostly quiet, though there were people who thought it was funny to make some noise when the rest of the stadium was silent. Regardless, the vocals were almost perfect, and hearing the song in such a quiet way was a unique way to open an encore.
After two instrument-heavy songs, "Awake My Soul" and "I Will Wait," the band officially closed their set with another unreleased single, "A Conversation With My Son, Gangsters, and Angels."
The song tied into the group harmonization seen during "Timshel," but slowly built up the inclusion of guitars and the cello, making for a heavenly experience to end the show.