Mumford & Sons releases third single, 'The Banjo Song' ahead of 'Prizefighter' LP
- carsydog0
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 18 hours ago
Mumford & Sons have returned with a new single, The Banjo Song, giving fans a glimpse at their sixth studio album, Prizefighter, set to arrive February 20.
Similar sounds: The Avett Brothers, Fleet Foxes, Dermot Kennedy
Where their previous album RUSHMERE leaned into modern folk-rock polish, The Banjo Song harkens back to the expansive, emotive storytelling of Babel. The track opens delicately, with soft, contemplative verses that gradually swell into a chorus that asks, almost pleadingly, “Did you call? Did you fall? Do you need someone?” It’s a song that balances vulnerability with momentum, its lyricism capturing the simultaneous self-awareness and hopefulness that has always defined the band.
Contrast this with Rubber Band Man, their earlier single featuring Hozier. That track leans into a rhythmic, more recent Mumford sound, while the cover art cleverly mirrors its title—a Zippo-style lighter wrapped in rubber bands, a visual counterpoint to Prizefighter’s blazing lighter motif.
“We feel like we’re hitting our prime as a creative force,” frontman Marcus Mumford said in a press release:
“We’re putting everything we have into this now, and we’re using everything about our experience so far to embrace exactly who we are. We’re comfortable in our skins these days. And Prizefighter is us going for it—serious and playful, sometimes bruised and always hopeful. We’re nowhere near done yet. I hope and believe we’re in the beginning of something we don’t want to let up on. I’m more excited to be in this band than I’ve ever been.”
Produced at Long Pond Studios in New York by Aaron Dessner of The National, Prizefighter features guest appearances from Chris Stapleton, Gracie Abrams, Gigi Perez, and Hozier. The record finds Mumford & Sons blending old and new: the folk-rooted storytelling fans expect, threaded with the layered textures and introspective lyricism that have colored their recent work.
With fourteen tracks, including the title track Prizefighter, “Here” with Stapleton, “Icarus” with Gigi Perez, and the bittersweet The Banjo Song, the album is shaping up to be one of the band’s most reflective and cohesive bodies of work to date.
Mumford & Sons will headline London’s BST Hyde Park on July 4, their first top-bill show there in ten years, supported by The War On Drugs and a full lineup yet to be announced. The band’s live performances are shaping up to match the album’s dynamic range—from the intimate, quiet moments of The Banjo Song to the driving, anthemic energy of tracks like Rubber Band Man.
For fans eager to hear Mumford & Sons in full form, Prizefighter promises to be an album that marries their signature emotional pull with a newfound creative confidence—both bruised and hopeful, serious yet playful, and unmistakably Mumford & Sons.
Unfortunately, most U.S. fans will be in a holding pattern while the band spends 2026 touring across the pond in Australia and Europe. See below for a full list of confirmed tour dates:
January 8–11, 2026 at Out of the Blue Festival in Cancun, Mexico
February 20–22, 2026 at Innings Festival in Tempe, AZ
April 24, 2026 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia
April 25, 2026 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia
April 29, 2026 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia
May 2, 2026 at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand
July 1, 2026 at Stadspark in Groningen, Netherlands
July 2, 2026 at Rock Werchter Festival in Werchter, Belgium
July 4, 2026 at BST Hyde Park in London, U.K.*
July 7, 2026 at Rock in Roma in Rome, Italy
July 9, 2026 at Waldbuhne in Berlin, Germany
August 1, 2026 at Hinterland Music Festival in St. Charles, Iowa
September 12, 2026 at Rock in Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*with special guest The War on Drugs
