Mumford and Sons Announce New Album, Festival Stop in Salida

It's a big day for Mumford & Sons fans: The band has just announced its third album, Wilder Mind, which will be out in early May. The British quartet will also bring back its Gentlemen of the Road series this year, and it will be in Salida on August 21 and 22. In addition to Mumford & Sons, the lineup for the Colorado stop includes the Flaming Lips, Dawes, Jenny Lewis, The Vaccines, tUnE-yArDs, James Vincent McMorrow, JEFF The Brotherhood, Blake Mills and more. Tickets for the series go on sale at 10 a.m. March 6. 

This is the first time the band has brought its Gentlemen of the Road tour to Colorado, but the series has roots here anyway: When it debuted in 2012, Marcus Mumford credited Telluride Bluegrass as an inspiration. Today's announcement includes further description of the Gentlemen of the Road series:

"Each Stopover is a two-day event that combines the intimacy of a community celebration with the excitement of a world-class music festival. Mumford & Sons will headline the Saturday shows, alongside an eclectic and energetic roster of artists curated by the band themselves. A series of smaller events involving local businesses, venues, and, most importantly, local people will happen in and around the town.

"About this year’s upcoming Stopover tour, Mumford & Sons said: 'The Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers are all about live music. We get to put them on in towns not normally frequented by touring bands in busses or splitter vans. We deliberately look for towns that have something unique, or some vibe of which they are proud, explore them and enjoy what they have to offer.'"
The release also offers some suggestion about what fans can expect from Wilder Mind. 

"This new album marks a significant departure for the young British band from their previous records, 2009’s Sigh No More, and 2012’s Babel. The early sessions in New York and London witnessed a change in the band’s approach not just to writing and recording, but to texture and dynamics, too. There is a minimalist yet panoramic feel to the new album, whose sound Marcus Mumford describes as “a development, not a departure.” It came about by both accident, and by conscious decision.

"'Towards the end of the Babel tour, we’d always play new songs during soundchecks, and none of them featured the banjo, or a kick-drum,' says Marcus Mumford. 'And demoing with Aaron meant that, when we took a break, we knew it wasn’t going to involve acoustic instruments. We didn’t say: "No acoustic instruments." But I think all of us had this desire to shake it up. The songwriting hasn’t changed drastically; it was led more by a desire to not do the same thing again. Plus, we fell back in love with drums! It’s as simple as that.'

"'It felt completely natural, though,' says Ben Lovett, 'like it did when we started out. It was very much a case of, if someone was playing an electric guitar, drums were going to complement that best; and, sonically, it then made sense to add a synth or an organ. We chose instruments that played well off each other, rather than consciously trying to overhaul it.'"

You can pre-order Wilder Mind through the Mumford & Sons web site. 

Mumford & Sons Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers 2015

Seaside Heights, New Jersey, USA
June 5 + 6 - Mumford & Sons, The Flaming Lips, Alabama Shakes, The Vaccines, The Maccabees, Dawes, The Very Best, Jenny Lewis, Little May, JEFF The Brotherhood, Blake Mills + more TBA

Waverly, Iowa, USA
June 19 + 20 - Mumford & Sons, The Flaming Lips, My Morning Jacket, Dawes, Jenny Lewis, The Maccabees, The Very Best, Rubblebucket, JEFF The Brotherhood, Blake Mills + more TBA

Aviemore, Scotland, UK
July 31 + August 1 – Mumford & Sons, Primal Scream, Simian Mobile Disco, Ben Howard, Lianne La Havas, The Maccabees, Jack Garratt, Honeyblood + more TBA

Walla Walla, Washington, USA
August 14 + 15 - Mumford & Sons, Foo Fighters, The Flaming Lips, The Vaccines, Dawes, Jenny Lewis, TuneYards, James Vincent McMorrow, JEFF The Brotherhood, Blake Mills + more TBA

Salida, Colorado, USA
August 21 + 22 - Mumford & Sons, The Flaming Lips, Dawes,
Jenny Lewis, The Vaccines, TuneYards, James Vincent McMorrow, JEFF The Brotherhood, Blake Mills + more TBA