Over the weekend, the banjo-jamming rockers Mumford and Sons announced to the world that they will be going on hiatus after touring extensively for more than four years with their albums Sigh No More and Babel. Keyboardist Ben Lovett previewed the band’s hiatus to Rolling Stone last week , saying “there won’t be any Mumford & Sons activities for the foreseeable future following Friday’s show.”
The band has no idea how long the break will last, but they are definitely excited about getting some time off and simply relaxing.
“We just know we’re going to take a considerable amount of time off and just go back to hanging out and having no commitments or pressure or anything like that,” Lovett told Rolling Stone before their last concert on Friday. “It feels like the last week of school right now, before school holiday when you’re in high school. The atmosphere on the road is one of . . . I think everyone’s excited about being free of schedules.”
The amount of touring the band does is definitely taking a toll on their bodies. Back in June, bassist Ted Dwane was hospitalized after doctors discovered a blood clot on his brain. While there is no official correlation between the clot and a busy tour schedule, over extending yourself for a long period of time can cause health issues in the long run. Remember when Nick Cannon got sick?
The band had plenty of success on this run.
Their debut album Sigh No More peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart and produced the hit singles “Little Lion Man” and “The Cave”. Both singles would end up being nominated for “Best Rock Song” at the 2012 and 2013 Grammys, respectively, but “The Cave” would go on to be nominated for “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” and “Best Rock Performance” as well.
In 2012, the Mumford and Sons released their second studio album. Babel debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and, at the time, was the largest debut of any album for the year. The album produced the multi-platinum single “I Will Wait” which was nominated for “Best Rock Song” and “Best Rock Performance” at the 2013 Grammys. Mumford and Son’s would end up winning their first Grammys when Babel won the award for “Album of the Year” and their documentary Big Easy Express won the Grammy for “Best Long Form Music Video.”
Let’s see if Mumford and Sons can repeat their success when they decided to return in the future. It won’t be an easy feat!
