Two years ago I attended the 2013 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival held in Manchester, Tenn. It was my first time attending this festival – or any music festival for that matter – and I was beyond pumped to see some of my all-time favorite acts who were headlining the festival. Those included the classics such as Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and The Breakers, as well as a more modern era group, Mumford and Sons. I woke from my tent the morning of Mumford and Sons’ headliner show to find out that the band would not be performing that year. All around me, people were upset and even mad – saying the main reason they bought their tickets was to see Mumford and Sons. Unfortunately, the news got worse. The reason the band wouldn’t be performing at the festival was because their bassist, Ted Dwane, was hospitalized after finding out he had a blood clot in his brain. This was serious news in regards to the future of both Ted Dwane’s health and that of the band.

As a result to the unfortunate situation, Mumford and Sons decided to go on hiatus, meaning they were going to take time off from performing so that Dwane could heal and they could work back from this difficult time. This was sad news to millions of Mumford and Sons fans from the United States to Europe.

Ted Dwane underwent brain surgery to remove the blood clot. Luckily, the surgery was a success and the group found out that Dwane would be all right. However, this was not all to be seen by the group as during their “time off,” music was still being written and recorded. Capitol Studios released several online videos titled “The New Basement Tapes,” which featured many well-known artists including: Jim James, Elvis Costello, and Mumford and Sons leadman Marcus Mumford. You can check out the link to “The New Basement Tapes” here:

This momentum continued as Mumford and Sons came back together to begin working on their third album titled “Wilder Mind,” which was released May 4.

Within the first week of sales, the record became an international success as it charted at number one in seven countries, while topping both the U.S. Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. With the success and media that followed the release of the group’s third album, it was finally time to take the show on the road and begin touring and performing again; this finally allowed a great sigh of relief for all Mumford and Sons fans.

I decided to attend the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival again this year (for the third year in a row) as Mumford and Sons was to be one of the headlining acts. I knew they would come out with a bang and keep the energy strong from start to finish to make up for their absence just two years ago. Satisfyingly, I was right. The band came out with a new style and sound including electric guitars and a full drum set – a very different musical setup compared to their last two records.

The band did not just want to deliver a phenomenal show for their audience; they wanted to include them in their experience and make the most out of their trip to Bonnaroo by filming the music video to their hit single “Wolf” during the festival. This came as a huge surprise to all the festival-goers, and was a great way for the band to come back with class and style. You can check out the music video for “Wolf” here:

Needless to say, Mumford and Sons is back and better than ever. This band evolved from the traditional bluegrass sound into their own innovative style that incorporate multiple genres across the musical spectrum. Keep following Mumford and Sons as they continue to win over the musical ears of fans all across around world.