To witness a concert at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett is already a treat due to the venue’s cozy, intimate setting, but when it’s a globally renown act like Mumford & Sons, it’s truly an unparalleled experience.
On Sunday, August 25, the iconic British rock band headlined an exceptional invitation-only show for SiriusXM subscribers and Pandora listeners, which brought out Sir Paul McCartney, John McEnroe and Dianna Agron, who is married to Winston Marshall, Mumford & Sons’ banjoist and lead guitarist.
“It’s very nice to be here,” lead singer Marcus Mumford told the crowd as the band readied to commence the gig.
 |
|
Sir Paul McCartney. (Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty) |
Throughout the evening, the band alternated between signature hits like Little Lion Man, I Will Wait, Timshel, The Cave, and Ghosts That We Knew, and newer tunes, such as Beloved and Rose of Sharon from last year’s Delta album.
“It’s fun to jump between new and old. It’s nice to see some people in the room tonight that have been with us for many years,” keyboardist Ben Lovett said.
At one point, Mumford chatted with the audience about his love for cricket, as his home country, England, had just won a major match in The Ashes, a Test cricket series that pits England versus Australia. “They’re five day games and there’s five of them. It’s like heaven because it’s just all the time and today we won a very important one,” Mumford explained. “You won’t get it, your quick American minds,” he joked about the sport.
Mumford & Sons got even more up close and personal with attendees when the band nearly joined the audience, singing around a single microphone that was just about as close to being in the crowd as it could get. For that portion, the musicians played stripped-down, acoustic versions of a few songs, including Timshel,, with just Mumford’s guitar accompanying Mumford, Marshall, Lovett, and bassist Ted Dwane’s harmonious voices.
For Mumford, playing at the Talkhouse brought the musician back to the earlier days of the band, when they were performing at more intimate venues. “This really is an honor to be in this room,” he added.
The Mumford & Sons SiriusXM and Pandora presented concert benefitted the USA Warrior Stories Inc.
“USA Warrior Stories’ mission is to record, archive and share videos of Veteran stories online to help Veterans connect with one another and to help us all better understand their sacrifices for our freedom,” Matt Hindra, who co-founded USA Warrior Stories with the Talkhouse’s Nick Kraus, relayed. “It was amazing to be the beneficiary of the annual SiriusXM concert at the Talkhouse. The exposure and financial contribution from SiriusXM will help us reach more Veterans and expand our online archive of Veterans stories.”
“To view our stories or if you’re a Veteran who would like their story added to the USA Warrior Stories archive visit usawarriorstories.org,” Hindra added.
The full performance aired on live on the SiriusXM’s The Spectrum channel (channel 28) and will be rebroadcast on SiriusXM’s Alt Nation (channel 36) this week.
For more information, visit www.siriusxm.com.
