Mumford & Sons at the O2 Arena
London is an emotional stop for Mumford & Sons, because it’s where their journey started. And that, in a way, explains their return to the city, first in March at the Forum (the start of a short run of intimate gigs ahead of the long-awaited new album), then this December for two dates at the O2 (which come at the end of their Rushmere tour), and a third time for an even bigger stage, the BST Hyde Park in July – all key moments in their return to live performances in Europe after a prolonged hiatus.
This winter concert carries strength and vibrancy, melding the classics with brand new material that marks a refreshing evolution in the band’s songwriting craft.
On a barely lit platform, the banjo resounds on its own, titillating, insistent, for a few seconds before the trio appears on stage, spotlighted and backed by a second line of full instrumentation. The opener of the night is Run Together from the upcoming album Prizefighter (due for release in February 2026). It’s a melodic, fluid folk-rock number. The crowd rises in an immediate, automatic act as Babel begins. Then comes the more recent Rubber Band Man, where the lyrics are beautifully interlaced with the string arrangements. It’s then time for an unbeatable triad, a rollercoaster of excitement, grief and faith: Little Lion Man, Hopeless Wanderer and Lover of the Light.
Until the latter (for which he takes his rightful place behind the drums), Marcus Mumford has been front and centre, strumming the guitar while kicking the pedal of a bass drum, with almost as much relish as Ben Lovett on the keyboards. These guys are a spectacle both to listen to and to watch, for the sheer physical energy they pour into playing. This segment climaxes with a fiery song, Truth – fiery in the literal sense, as flames burst from the perimeter of the stage. Another new track, Here, performed with Sierra Ferrell, follows before the band moves to the satellite stage in the middle of the arena for an acoustic set. In such a loud, expansive venue, performing Ghosts That We Knew becomes almost intimate, the guitar picking clear and hushed.
Back on the main platform, the prolonged vocal ornaments of White Blank Page (part hymn, part folk rock) are charged with passion and tension: a reverberating number that ends with a double-rhythm dialogue between banjo and double bass. The trio are evidently overexcited to be in London, to the point where it feels as though they want to hug the entire audience; frontman Mumford comes close to it, grabbing the mic and launching into a full-on run around the arena while singing Ditmas (forcing the security guard behind him into a series of sprints). Roll Away Your Stone is an upbeat piece where the fun, funky score runs almost in contrast to its introspective lyrics.
By this point, there have been a few hiccups, a couple of off-key vocals. But all of it is swiftly overlooked thanks to an energised and energising performance, with rich vocals and the characteristic string pounding that so beautifully defines the band’s sound.
The encore begins with an a cappella rendition of Timshel. Needless to say, the subdued atmosphere shifts to a rock welcome, with the crowd jumping to the rhythm of Awake My Soul and I Will Wait. But it’s not with the notes of the 2012 hit that the concert ends. Instead, the curtain falls on a very smiling and accomplished Mumford, Dwane and Lovett as they play Conversation With My Son from their next album Prizefighter: a musical letter, gentle in its words and folky in its tune. Same class, new chapter.
Cristiana Ferrauti
Photos: Virginie Viche
For further information and future events, visit Mumford & Sons’s website here.
Watch the video for Rubber Band Man here:
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