The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, in modern forms usually made of plastic, originally of animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African Americans and had African antecedents. In the 19th century, interest in the instrument was spread across the United States and United Kingdom by traveling shows of the 19th century minstrel show fad, followed by mass-production and mail-order sales, including instruction method books. The inexpensive or home-made banjo remained part of rural folk culture, but 5-string and 4-string banjos also became popular for home parlor music entertainment, college music clubs, and early 20th century jazz bands. By the early 21st century, the banjo was most frequently associated with folk, bluegrass and country music, but was also used in some rock, pop and even hip-hop music. Among rock bands, the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead have used the five-string banjo in some of their songs.
Edward Parker Helms is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom The Office (2006–2013), and starred as Stuart Price in The Hangover trilogy. He later starred in the comedy series Rutherford Falls (2021–2022), which he co-wrote.
Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, Remedy, released in 2014, won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. The group's music has been called old-time, folk, and alternative country. Along with original songs, the band performs many pre-World War II blues and folk songs.
Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane, and Ben Lovett.
Peter R. Arnott was an American composer, theatre director and banjo player. Arnott was a member of the Bohemian Club and was closely involved with a number of Grove Plays. Arnott was a founding member and banjo player for the Goodtime Washboard Three. He died in 2022.
Sigh No More is the debut studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released on 2 October 2009 in the UK, and on 16 February 2010 in the United States and Canada. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 11 and peaked at No. 2 on 20 February 2011, in its 72nd week on the chart and following its Album of the Year win at the Brit Awards. In early 2011, the album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in the US.
Marcus Oliver Johnstone Mumford is an American-born British singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the folk band Mumford & Sons. He also plays a number of instruments with the group, including guitar, drums and mandolin. He is married to English actress Carey Mulligan.
Babel is the second studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. As with Sigh No More, the album was produced by Markus Dravs. The vinyl LP version of the record was pressed by United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tennessee. It was released on 21 September 2012 in Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Australia and New Zealand. It was released on 24 September 2012 in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe, South America, and on 25 September 2012 in the United States and Canada.
Benjamin Walter David Lovett is a British musician and producer, best known for being a member of the Grammy Award-winning British folk rock band Mumford & Sons.
"Whispers in the Dark" is a song performed by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons, released as the third single from their second studio album Babel (2012). It was released on 11 March 2013 as a digital download. The song was written by Mumford & Sons and produced by Markus Dravs.
Winston Aubrey Aladar deBalkan Marshall is an English musician, songwriter and podcaster. He is best known as the former banjoist and lead guitarist of the British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. Prior to this he was in the bluegrass sleaze rap group Captain Kick and the Cowboy Ramblers. With Mumford & Sons, Marshall has won multiple awards, including a Grammy and two Brit Awards. He has performed music with different supergroups and collaborated with Baaba Maal and HVOB. After leaving Mumford & Sons, Marshall started an interview podcast with The Spectator.
Wilder Mind is the third studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released on 4 May 2015 through Gentlemen of the Road, Island, Glassnote and Universal Music Group. It was an international success in its first week on sale, charting at number one in seven countries, topping both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, and reaching the top 5 in nine other countries. Five singles have been released from the album, "Believe", "The Wolf", "Ditmas", "Tompkins Square Park" and "Just Smoke".
"Believe" is a song by British rock band Mumford & Sons. The song was released on 9 March 2015, serving as the lead single from the band's third studio album, Wilder Mind (2015). The song marks a significant departure in the sound of the band, substituting their acoustic instrumentation for electric with a more alternative sound being featured in the song.
"The Wolf" is a song by English rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released as the second single from their third studio album Wilder Mind on 9 April 2015 and charted in multiple countries. The official music video for the song was uploaded on 30 June 2015 to the band's Vevo channel on YouTube.
"Ditmas" is a song by the band Mumford & Sons from their third studio album Wilder Mind. It was released worldwide as the third single from the album on September 11, 2015, and was sent to American alternative stations on 17 November 2015.
Johannesburg is the tenth extended play by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons, which was recorded during the band's tour in South Africa in early 2016. It is a collaboration with Senegalese singer Baaba Maal, South African pop group Beatenberg, and Malawian-British singer-producer combo the Very Best. The EP was released on 17 June 2016 through Island Records.
Delta is the fourth studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released on 16 November 2018 through Gentlemen of the Road, Island Records and Glassnote. The album was recorded at The Church Studios in London with producer Paul Epworth. The album was supported by three singles, "Guiding Light", "Beloved", and "Woman", and managed to reach number one on the US Billboard 200 and number two on the UK Albums Chart. Delta was their last album with guitarist and banjoist Winston Marshall before his departure in 2021.
"If I Say" is a song by English rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released as a promotional single from their fourth studio album, Delta, on 25 October 2018. The song was written by Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane. The band began playing the track live in May 2017. A studio version of the song could be heard on a livestream from the band’s Instagram account in April 2018.
"Woman" is a song by English rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released as the third single from their fourth studio album, Delta, on 10 May 2019. The song was written by Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane.
"Beloved" is a ballad by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Delta, on 22 February 2019. The song was written by Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane.
