Marcus Mumford with The As at Massey Hall

The last couple years of the pandemic has thrown people lives off balanced, some more worse than others, but it also has been a saviour for some others, a time to slow down, a time for reflection. During Mumford and Sons’s 2019 Delta tour, Marcus Mumford admits to self-medicating with excess of alcohol and binge eating which he later addressed after the tour through therapy and healthier life choices. You can tell the man standing on stage tonight at Massey Hall is not the same man, physically and mentally. You can tell Marcus Mumford put in the work and came out the other end a better human.

During the pandemic, between the therapy, Mumford also confronted his own demons, being a survivor of childhood abuse and the catalyst for his new solo album, “Selt-Titled”. A quieter version of Mumford, without the bells and whistles that he is known for in his other band, Mumford and Sons. Self-Titled is an emotionally raw and honest album, that Mumford has said, “It’s about freedom and healing”. It was an interesting night to hear the album in its’ entirety, track by track, as on the album, and to see how the crowd would react.

The show opened with Mumford coming on stage, all smiles and greeting the crowd, then immediately went into a couple of crowd pleasers, two acoustic versions from his main band Mumford and Sons, Awake my Soul and The Cave. Mumford mentioned that it was great to be on tour again and to be playing these opera house venues, and that he always wanted to play Massey Hall, because of its’ history. He also mentioned that one of Massey Hall’s staff was telling him that Neil Young played this venue and he surprised the crowd with a cover of Neil Young’s Dance, Dance, Dance, after which he immediately went into the start of his album, Self-Titled.

There was a lot of shushing as Mumford went into the lead single from Self-Titled, Cannibal, which details the abuse he endured when he was a child. It’s a difficult track to listen to but there is a crescendo of hope at the end. He proceeded this by the more uplifting track, “Grace”, which as Mumford sings, “There will come a time/When it won’t feel just like living it over and over/With the weight of the shadow on your shoulder/And I hear there’s healing just around this corner.” With such a heavy subject matter, one would assume that it would be an emotionally demanding performance night after night, but Mumford has alluded that although the work he put in through therapy and this record has been a difficult process at times, that it was important for him to tour this album as part of the healing process. As well, to allow others to connect through the music and the songwriting. It’s the most honest album he has put out.

It was also nice to seeing Mumford playing with a full band on this tour, and not just him solely on stage. It seems fitting since he has had so much support from others during the making of this solo effort. Mumford, in previous articles and interviews, have credited the support of the musical community in helping him with this album, notably Elton John and his husband, and other collaborators on this album, Clairo, Monica Martin, Phoebe Bridgers, Brandi Carlile, and Julia Michaels. It’s also fitting, that fans have embraced this other side of Mumford, and it is easy to see too as he is still one of the most affable musicians, as the crowd enjoyed his numerous banters during his set between songs.

One of the sweetest moments was when Mumford played unplugged with no mic, for the hit track, “I Will Wait, and the crowd waited patiently and somewhat quietly before breaking and chiming in along to the main chorus. Mumford also covered a Taylor Swift track, “Cowboy like me”, stopping part way only to quip about the pronunciation of “dance” which he gave a pass earlier when he sang Neil Young’s “Dance, Dance, Dance”. Mumford ended the set with a couple tracks from “The New Basement Tapes”, “When I get my hands on you” and the crowd pleasing, “Kansas City”. It was a great night of music, and “Self-Titled”, is a worthy album from one of most recognizable and unique voices in the music industry.