Mumford & Sons at Massey Hall

Photo credit: James Marcus Haney

In anticipation of their fifth studio album Rushmere, out now, Mumford & Sons treated a sold-out Massey Hall to an intimate “tour before the tour” show in Toronto this past Sunday.

Starting the show under a single spotlight at the front of the stage, members Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane, and Ben Lovett performed a stripped-back version of “Timshel” from their debut album Sigh No More and “Ditmas” from Wilder Mind. With such a stripped back, intimate start to the show you could feel the energy reach its breaking point as the band, along with additional accompaniment, launched into “Malibu” from Rushmere and we were off.

No matter where you hopped onto the Mumford & Sons train, the setlist made sure to bring a healthy mix of familiar hits while also giving a preview of what this new album has to offer. A special performance of what I already know is my favourite song off of Rushmere, “Where It Belongs”, along with “Caroline”, “Malibu”, and the album’s title track, were so special it felt like a spell had been cast over the crowd. The same intensity that was found in bodies jumping around to mega hits “Little Lion Man” and “Babel” of albums past was found in the intensity in which these new songs were being received, you would think every song was everyone’s favourite song.

Having seen Mumford & Sons years ago during their Wilder Mind tour, I already knew they are stellar performers. They’re the kind of group that begs to be seen live – their energy is infectious, their anecdotes are endearingly British, and they sound just as incredible (if not even better) than they do on their records. But there was something about being in Massey Hall that really highlighted this undeniable talent. Throughout the show Marcus Mumford couldn’t stop himself from saying how much he loved Canada and was so happy to be back in the city, but especially to be at Massey Hall.

Sharing that one of his favourite albums is Neil Young’s Live at Massey Hall 1971, the group took advantage of the historic venue’s acoustics by starting their encore with another acoustic rendition of their song “Reminder” from Babel, and Young’s Harvest – a song they haven’t performed since 2015. Before saying goodnight, we were all given a final chance to rock out together and sing along to the anthem “I Will Wait” with the promise we won’t have to wait too long – we’ll be seeing them again very soon.

If you weren’t able to catch the group at Massey Hall, fear not! The band will be back in Toronto at Budweiser Stage this summer on June 24th. Tickets go on sale to the public April 4th with a Ticketmaster fan presale on April 3rd at 10am. Sign up for tickets here.

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