this blog needs a new tagline. i'm taking suggestions.

I love music, but I don’t go to very many concerts. It’s just not that enjoyable of an experience for me. Dark club, toxic smoke fumes, drunk college kids all over the place, 105 degree heatbox. I sound like an old man.

But then there are bands that come along and I’ll do whatever it takes to see them perform live because the music is just that good. Along comes Mumford & Sons with their debut album “Sigh No More” early this year. This album blew me away within the first 20 seconds of listening to it, and it’s pretty much been on my playlist nonstop this year.

They are rightly categorized under the “British Folk” genre, but that might leave you with the impression of a sleepy singer-songwriter style full of dragging slow songs. Hardly. This band has energy and passion that doesn’t stop with the first few tracks, full of fiery imperfection that gives you an honest glimpse into who these guys really are.  They draw a lot of comparisons to The Avett Brothers, except with British accents. The Avett Brothers with British accents would basically be The Swell Season (and I love The Swell Season). Give The Swell Season banjos and we might be getting closer.

Anyways, we were kindly invited to tag along with our friends Dave & Meg to see Mumford & Sons in Bloomington, Indiana earlier this week. We immediately said yes.

So on Monday morning we left unwordly-hot Nashville for an equally unwordly-hot Bloomington. It’s possible that we were pulled over for reckless driving on the way to the gig. It’s also possible that tornado sirens were going off as we stood in line for the concert.  I was responsible for neither of these things. The band played at the Bluebird, which was a fantastic club minus the fact that it was 100 degrees outside and 200 degrees inside. That paired with the wood floors and soaking wet people (post-tornadoes) essentially turned the place into a giant sauna. But after suffering through two opening acts we were finally given the chance to hear what we came for.

I’m terrible at describing concerts, but suffice to say, it was one of the most fantastic shows I’ve ever seen. These guys are incredibly proficient musicians, multi-instrumentalists, and extremely talented at what they do. They were able to recreate every ounce of passion on stage that you hear on the album, and probably more. I’m incredibly excited to hear what’s next from this young band in the years to come.

For just a glimpse of what we got to experience, check out this live video of “The Cave“.