Mumford & Sons Takes Residence at Madison Square Garden

Marcus Mumford spoke of his love of New York City to the audience at Madison Square Garden on the third night of Mumford & Sons’ three-night residency this week. Since forming in 2007, the British band has performed in the city perhaps more times than any other American city. The trio also recorded here, and even wrote a song entitled “Tompkins Square Park,” named after an iconic park in New York’s East Village.

Over the years, Mumford & Sons has performed conventional shows at Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Forest Hills Stadium and Brooklyn Paramount. Last year, Mumford & Sons performed unique, non-traditional concerts in New York City, playing totally acoustic and non-amplified (not even microphones!) pop-up concerts at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and Houston Hall. Earlier this year, the trio performed a brief acoustic set at the Tribeca Festival following a screening of the documentary Mumford & Sons: The House Band. Last month, Mumford & Sons with full band performed four songs at Rockefeller Plaza for the Today Show Citi Concert Series.

This past February 20, Mumford & Sons released Prizefighter, the band’s sixth studio album. At that time, the group also announced a North American tour that would park at Madison Square Garden, a venue the band first performed in 2018. This was to be a big-production tour, very unlike the area performances of the past few years. The shows would be augmented by additional musicians, projection screens and pyrotechnics. Originally booked for one concert at the world’s most famous arena, ticket demand allowed the band to headline three consecutive nights this week.

Despite all the heavy artillery at Madison Square Garden, Mumford & Sons remained basically a simple folk-rock band playing joyful and sentimental pop tunes. The three remaining founding members, lead vocalist/guitarist Marcus Mumford, keyboardist Ben Lovett and bassist Ted Dwane, remained faithful to their musical roots, embracing Americana while pumping up the energy with a horn section, drums and various stringed instruments. Even with 10 musicians on stage, the arrangements remained uncluttered, subtly accentuating a banjo, fiddle or trumpet when a song called for these flourishes.

As the musicians assumed their positions on stage, Mumford & Sons’ nearly two-hour set began with a recorded version of the instrumental section of “The Wild,” followed by the sportscast of the New York Knicks’ championship-win. Mumford came on stage wearing a Knicks tank top with his name across the back. After the first song, he removed the tank top to reveal another tank top with the Knick’s Brunson’s name and number 11 across the back.

In another amusing animation a little more than halfway through the performance, Mumford jumped from the main stage during the song “Ditmas.” He ran through the audience at floor level, and climbed into the 100s section in the rear of the arena. Singing non-stop, he shook hands, hugged, kissed and posed for photographs with fans all along the path to the end of the venue and back to the main stage. He concluded the song back on the stage.

The evening’s repertoire relied heavily on the Prizefighter album, showcasing 10 of the collection’s 14 tracks. Curiously, the set featured only one song from last year’s Rushmere album, but that album was the band’s slowest seller. Medium Build, the support act on all three nights, made a guest appearance in Mumford & Sons’ performances on the first two nights but, on this third night, Stella Lefty was the surprise guest, singing on her song, “Boston,” and on the band’s “Here.”

Towards the end of the program, the core trio of Mumford, Lovett and Dwane left all the flash of the main stage. With fiddler Rob Moose, they retreated to a small B-stage at the rear of the arena. There, they performed acoustic bluegrass-flavored versions of "Clover," Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire," and "Badlands."

Marcus Mumford with Stella Lefty

While the pyrotechnics might have been somewhat distracting for some fans during some of the more rocking moments in the concert, the sound system was crisper than what normally can be expected at a sports arena. This clarity proved to be beneficial to the overall presentation. The sound system effectively captured the soothing texture of Mumford’s vocals, the warmth of the lyrics, and the sweet instrumentation behind all the songs.

Mumford & Sons put on a fine show. Starting with a new song, “Run Together” and ending with a fan favorite, 2012’s “I Will Wait,” the concert was energetic, diversified and classy. While the bulk of the program consisted of newer and largely unfamiliar cuts, the heartfelt delivery won over the audience. It seemed like the musicians very much enjoyed the performance as well.

Medium Build, the stage name of Georgia-raised, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Nick Carpenter, opened the concert with a small band and an engaging 40-minute set. His narrative lyrics and between-song banter combined wit, wonder, and absurdity. Medium Build is a singer-songwriter for modern times.

Mumford & Sons Setlist

Main Stage

1. Run Together
2. Little Lion Man
3. Rubber Band Man
4. White Blank Page
5. Awake My Soul
6. Lover of the Light
7. Hopeless Wanderer
8. Alleycat
9. Prizefighter
10. Begin Again
11. Believe
12. Truth
13. Ditmas
14. The Cave
15. Boston (Stella Lefty cover, with Stella Lefty)
16. Here (with Stella Lefty)
17. The Wolf

B-Stage

1. Clover
2. I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)
3. Badlands

Encore

1. Conversation with My Son (Gangsters & Angels)
2. The Banjo Song
3. I Will Wait

Related Article

Mum’s the Word with Mumford & Sons at Brooklyn Paramount (2025)

Medium Build

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The Manhattan Beat covers New York City's live music circuit. All articles are written by Everynight Charley Crespo. All photographs are taken by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise.

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