They say to write you need to read. To play you need to listen. To live you must learn.
However, in the matter of living, no life can be truly fulfilled without the experience of a Mumford & Sons' live performance.
Last night (29 April) Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena, under the caress of fairy lights, shape-shifted from its usual 21,000-person venue to that of a small-town country barn.
Mood-lit by a row of lights and warm backlit lighting, people travelled from all over to rendezvous for a night of boot scooting, twirling and voice hurling.
Supported by the incredible Hudson Freeman and Australia's own Folk Bitch Trio, both acts mustered the audience into place, setting the scene for a night of vocal and musical virtuoso.
By completion together, Hudson Freeman and Folk Bitch Trio awed the people with airy, cloud-chasing melodies and harmonies that caressed the strings of every note plucked and riffed.
Folk Bitch Trio - image © AH Imagery
Their talent is something that won't soon be forgotten, probably having already nestled into the fold of everyone's mind before exiting.
Shushing and awing the audience without stepping foot onstage, Mumford & Sons corralled bubbles of anticipation while Johnny Cash's version of 'Ring Of Fire' set the air for the evening.
The English folk-rock band began with 'Here' and crowd favourite 'I Will Wait', which saw them backlit by dusty orange tones that evoked memories of Australia's outback.
It was during the latter that Marcus Mumford set the expectation for the night, demanding people stand and dance, noting: "F... the person behind ya," but also playfully asking to be respectful.
Beside members Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane, the band galloped through their discography, touching on songs like 'White Blank Page', 'Icarus' and 'The Cave'. As a special treat to the Sydney audience, the band introduced Australian singer-songwriter Gretta Ray to sing Gracie Abrams' part of their song 'Badlands'.
Mumford & Sons - image © AH Imagery
With heart-thumping beats, somersaulting trumpet, trombone and jovial banjo riffs, it was impossible to not dance or sway all evening.
Just when you thought there was an end to the surprises, Marcus merrily took-off through the crowd. Dashing through the side of GA floor, up through rows of A Reserve seating, down back to GA floor before carving a way through the middle to the stage, all while performing 'Ditmas'.
A feat you would never expect, yet the audience was amused, with a crowd of people seen bouncing and clearing space as Marcus darted through. It truly was as if the GA floor was the setting of a barn dance.
With deep respect for them as performers, Marcus had not a struggle getting an arena of people to fall silent while he, Ben and Ted circled a singular mic on their B-Stage to perform 'Timshel', 'I'll Tell You Everything', 'Rubber Man' (with the feathery support vocals of Folk Bitch Trio) and 'Ghosts That We Knew'. If a coin had been dropped, it wouldn't have been heard.
Mumford & Sons - image © AH Imagery
Along the barricade of their B-Stage, the audience crooned and marvelled in a moment of wonderstruck, but they were whispers. It was as if a spell was sprinkled around the arena and in tandem, everyone knew this was not the moment for an audience's vocals to support but to rest, to listen.
As they finished up their set, the band sprang into a foot-stomping, banjo-led performance of 'Little Lion Man'. It was here Marcus expressed: "If this song belongs anywhere, it's Sydney, Australia."
The crowd took on various parts as back-up singers as the veil shifted and scenery altered – Qudos Bank Arena didn't just feel like a barn dance anymore, it felt like the local pub on a Friday night while the indie musicians performed and the crowd paused their drinking to belt: "I really f...ed it up this time." Marcus couldn't have been any more correct – this song was Sydney's moment.
Mumford & Sons were able to expertly execute an evening of intimate, moving performances that left you feeling like you were simultaneously in a barn in the middle of Australia dancing and hollering, yet encased in an immense, emotive, arena-sized group hug.
Mumford & Sons - image © AH Imagery
The skill and confidence to transform an arena into an intimate performance cannot be understated – with phones in the air and an audience that mirrors waves in their movement, their superiority as performers was on full display.
They closed out by telling the crowd that if there is demand they'll come back; it's undeniable that after Sydney's turnout, they'll be back sooner than they think.
- written by Rhi Trowbridge
