Mumford & Sons

One of the most loved and hated bands of the 2010s, Mumford & Sons became enormously popular worldwide while drawing a mighty backlash, especially at home in the U.K. Not bad for a fresh-faced, fairly unassuming folk-rock group with roots in English trad. Formed in London during 2007, the band's four members-Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane-all sang and swapped off instruments; a Mumfords show was largely acoustic but built from emotive ballads to foot-stomping shout-alongs. In early days the band was part of a loose-knit group of young, West London folk groups who were all drawing attention, including Alessi's Ark, Noah & the Whale, and songwriter Laura Marling-with whom they got especially close, touring and recording together a few times. The Mumfords toured hard through 2007-09 and released an EP, Love Your Ground, without getting much attention outside the UK. That changed after their first album, Sigh No More, which was released with major-label push in late 2009 (their US label, Glassnote, was part of the Universal conglomerate). The live shows got bigger and the album ultimately went multiple platinum. By 2011 the band was playing "Maggie's Farm" with Bob Dylan and the Avett Brothers at the Grammy Awards (getting two nominations but not winning either) and Mumford had begun dating actress Carey Mulligan whom he'd later marry. They also got invited to play for President Obama at the White House. At home the press began knocking them for being wholesome and earnest (which they indeed were, with a couple members being devout Christians)but their popularity didn't suffer: The second album, 2012's Babel, went Number One and was nominated for the Best Album Grammy; this time they won. That year also brought a concert at Colorado's Red Rocks which became a DVD. The tour continued into 2013 when it hit a sudden snag, as Dwane needed brain surgery to remove a blood clot. He recovered and the band headlined Glastonbury that summer. Taking on producer James Ford (of Simian Mobile Disco and Arctic Monkeys fame) the third album Wilder Mind sported a more homogenized rock/pop sound, losing the banjos in favor of electric guitar and synthesizers, and expanding their trademark bass drum into a full kit. The album debuted at Number One in both the U.S. and the U.K. During 2016 they took a side trip and recorded the five-song EP Johannesburg with Senegalese singer Baba Maal and Malawian/British production team the Very Best, borrowing South African music and electronica in the manner of a 21st-century version of Paul Simon's Graceland.