“I still live in my parents house, in the same bedroom I grew up in,” says Ben. How have the quartet dealt with the sudden arrival of fame and how have their lives changed over the past three years? The album’s singles, especially ‘Little Lion Man’, received heavy airplay. The album’s anthemic folk-rock struck a chord with the public and saw it ride high in the charts across the English speaking world, including reaching the number two spot in the USA. By the following year they had released their debut EP and in 2009 came the album Sigh No More. Mumford & Sons formed towards the end of 2007, from a group of friends involved in the folk and acoustic scene in West London. “We also hit the bars around Massimo,” laughs Ted. “Our friend Damien O’Donoghue, I remember we visited his grandparents in Salthill and then went diving off the tower at Blackrook,” says Ben. They also have fond memories of that March visit. “It’s a special place and that is why we want to engage with it for the Gentlemen. “We just love the feel of this place,” says Ben. There is none of the ‘Oh it’s a great place we really love it’ standard line which many bands trot out. Mumfords first played Galway in March last year and they seem to have a genuine affection for the city and county. We enjoy being in a room or in a pub or at gigs, friends meeting and singing songs together, so it’s a nice instinct to be encouraging in people.” “Community feels important,” says Ben, “but it’s something that has declined a little bit in modern times. Marcus Mumford’s parents, John and Eleanor, are national leaders of the Vineyard Church in Britain which is involved in charity work and providing aid and assistance to homeless people. Ben Lovett is a co-founder of the Communion project, which began in London as a venture to showcase new and emerging talent, championing of independent music, and creating a community of musicians and fans. The band’s commitment to such ideals is not in question either. is that it is not taking over, it is doing things in collaboration with, and that is the plan.”

“We enjoy that in our music making and part of the spirit of Gentlemen. “Collaboration is the buzzword,” continues Ted Dwane. It makes it more real for us and for the audience as well.” We love Glastonbury and other such festivals, they create their own world but for the other 360 days of year what is there? We enjoy the things that are in situ, the markets, the vendors, the local pubs, and supporting that, and involving the people. “The idea came from festivals which are already doing that. At the shows a lot of the people selling things will be independent vendors and a lot of the food will be from the local market. “In Gentlemen of the Road, we don’t want to promise to bring too much to the table, but we are encouraging what already exists. “We are all as individuals very interested in the idea of local community and in encouraging that through any venture we do,” Ben Lovett tells me. The idea of community, local businesses, and the people who make up such entities are at the heart of the Gentlemen. tour, the band’s eagerly awaited second album, meeting Ray Davies and Bob Dylan, and why they are ‘acoustic’ rather than ‘folk’. Last week Mumford & Sons were in Galway and Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane took time to talk about the ideas of the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover. We’ll be using the local bars and venues for aftershow parties, whilst working closely with the local people to get everyone involved in making these shows spectacular.” When the shows were announced last month, the band said: “We’re keen to promote the town’s local businesses. The tour is animated by the idea of celebrating “the people, food and music that inhabit” each town they play in. tour to Salthill Park on Saturday June 9. Mumford & Sons - Marcus Mumford (vocals, guitar, drums, mandolin ) Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboards, accordion, drums ) Country Winston Marshall (vocals, banjo, Dobro, guitar ) and Ted Dwane (vocals, string bass, drums, guitar ) - will bring their Gentlemen of the Road Stopover. It’s an idea that comes through in the band’s name, but also in their approach to the current tour - the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover. They have a strong belief in the ideas of community and locality. MUMFORD & SONS could be classed as idealists.

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