After nearly non-stop activity for the past four years, Mumford & Sons are taking a hiatus. “There won”t be any Mumford & Sons activities for the foreseeable future,” the band”s keyboardist, Ben Lovett, told Rolling Stone over the weekend.
The Grammy-winning British group”s last tour date for 2012″s “Babel” was in Kansas Friday night and it will be the band” last concert for quite some time. Just how much time is anyone”s guess. When asked how long “the foreseeable future” is, Lovett said, “We have no idea. We just know we”re going to take a considerable amount of time and just go back to hanging out and having no commitments or pressure or anything like that…I think everyone”s excited about being free of schedules.”
The last four years since the release of “Sigh No More” have seen the British quartet rise to international music superstars, headlining arenas around the world and curating its own Gentlemen of the Road festivals.
Of course, it’s not the first time bands have declared they are taking a break and returned relatively quickly. Last summer Dave Grohl declared that the Foo Fighters were going away for a long time, and now the group is in the midst of finishing a new album. Similarly, Kings of Leon took a year off, but during that time started writing songs for their new album, “Mechanical Bull,” which comes out tomorrow.
And while Mumford & Sons may disappear for awhile, it looks like lead singer Marcus Mumford will not: he is among the headliners for a Sept. 29 benefit show centered around the new Coen Brothers’ film, “Inside Llewyn Davis.” The show, which also features Jack White, the Avett Brothers, the Punch Brothers and several other acts, will benefit the National Recording Preservation Foundation, and was organized by T Bone Burnett, the movie’s music producer.