Photo Gallery: Mumford & Sons at The Chicago Theatre

Brassneck | April 7, 2019

London quartet Mumford & Sons have pulled off some impressive feats during their decade-long career. Friday night at Chicago’s United Center they continued that winning streak. They managed to make a cavernous sports arena feel intimate and inviting. The fact that they sold it out in mere moments was equally impressive. Touring behind their fourth record, Delta, the band has chosen to set up in the round, thus minimizing the space between themselves and their audience.

If fact, lead singer Marcus Mumford chose to break down the fourth wall completely when he took a lap through the lower mezzanine and the main floor at one point during a career spanning evening of music. It made those in attendance as much a part of the performance as the band itself. Considering that connection has always been an overriding part of live music, that alone would have been enough to crown the evening a success.

But the tricky thing about making acoustic music seem voluminous and rocking is to implement it with precision. Fortunately for Mumford & Sons, their execution on this birth night of the weekend was facelift tight and completely in the pocket.

Words and photos by Curt Baran