Mumford & Sons could have done the usual promotional run to get fans hyped for their upcoming Rushmere album, the folk rock trio’s first in seven years. And while singer Marcus Mumford will surely sit down for some interviews and the band have booked a run of intimate promo gigs in New York and the U.K. through April 3, one of the things the group’s frontman tells Billboard they wanted to do this time around was find a way to deeply connect with fans where they already are.
“We’re full of songs at the moment — we spent two years in the studio writing [and] this first batch is Rushmere — and it’s encapsulating the spirit of our band in a lot of ways. That made us look back a bit at some of the collaborations we’ve had, some of the records we’ve made, EPs… it’s a lot of music,” says Mumford of the group’s half dozen EPs and four studio albums since 2008.
So, with their follow-up to 2018’s Delta due out on Friday (March 28), Mumford, bassist/drummer Ted Dwane and keyboard player Ben Lovett will help celebrate Tuesday’s (March 25) launch of their first dedicated SiriusXM channel, Mumford & Sons Radio, with a special event for their die-hards. On Thursday (March 27), the trio will give North American fans a chance to call in and ask questions during a live Q&A session, followed by a live performance in the SiriusXM studios.
“When the SiriusXM team suggested it we leapt at it,” Mumford says of the channel he promises will feature hand-picked songs from across the band’s catalog, as well as some of their favorite collaborations with artists including The National’s Aaron Dessner on the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil,” and “special moments” with Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell, among others.
“It was fun to look through our previous recordings, like, ‘oh s–t! I forgot about that song!’,” Mumford says of the culling process. “But we had to draw lines through some of [the songs] because you can’t put them all on.” The limited-run channel is the latest such offering from the satellite radio giant, joining temporary ones from Mary J. Blige and Lady Gaga earlier this month, as well as quick-hit channels featuring the music of Maxwell in February and Billy Joel in January.
“We put some real effort into it… we sat down to talk about our songs for far too long!,” says Mumford about the band interviews that will be featured on the channel along with DJ sets in which he can geek out over playing favorite artists such as Mk.gee and talk about how much he loves Gracie Abrams and Kendrick Lamar. There will also be some pleasant surprises, including songs Lamar producer Sounwave worked on for Mumford’s self-titled 2022 solo album.
“There are also some heavier moments, like when we really plug in and go electric with Gang of Youths, or we do a cover version of Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Hurt’ via Johnny Cash and then plugged back in again,” Mumford promises of the surprises that will pop up alongside songs by other artists that have influenced and inspired the group. The channel will also tap into Mumford & Sons’ long association with SiriusXM with replays of their 2015 SiriusXM exclusive performance at New York City’s McKittrick Hotel, their 2019 show at Stephen Talkhouse in the Hamptons and other in-studio sets from over the years.
Mumford & Sons Radio will be available in cars on channel 79 through April 8 and on the SiriusXM app through April 24.