Here at The Blue Walrus, we’ve all been massive fans of Mumford & Sons since the boys first hit the road a couple of years back, so much so that there was almost a punch up when I beat Tim to it and featured the band here not so long ago. Seeing them at the Cambridge Junction on Sunday marked the fifth time I’ve gone out to see the band play, and the boys are still absolutely magnificent.

Made up of four multi-instrumentalists who are talent-soaked up to their very pretty ears, Mumford & Sons aren’t just brilliant musicians, but guys with tangible and appealing personalities that are visible onstage. “As brothers we will stand, and hold your hand,” they sing in the epic ‘Awake My Soul’; this lyric really envisions the whole feel of the London nu-folk movement, and what Mumford & Sons are about as a band too. Their take on music is not just folk in terms of genre, but folk in the true sense of the collective human spirit the tradition is based on.

Opening the weekend’s show – and indeed every night of this very special tour – was the amazing Pete Roe (often wrongly spelt Pete Rowe, I recently discovered – this confused me greatly). Having played in bands alongside Laura Marling and the Mumford boys, this time round the Bristol gent presented his songwriting and performance talent as a solo artist. Pete is wonderful, and well worth a listen if you’re a fan of any of the many pioneers of nu-folk from London town.

Also in support were 10-piece folk orchestra Shoreline; their flawlessly planned and executed set showcased everything from fiddles to flutes to 10-member strong vocal lines. Impressive stuff.

After a gorgeous rendition of album opener ‘Sigh No More’, Marcus told us that he didn’t mind whether we liked the support acts, because he fucking loved them; a claim reinforced by the fact that both he and keyboard-player Ben could be seen enjoying the opening sets from within the audience. It’s refreshing and brilliant to see a band down to earth enough not to hide away before a show.

The rest of the performance from these West London folkies can only be described as foot-tapping galore; the music of Mumford & Sons is utterly convincing, and they make it look easy to what they do.  Their interaction with the audience, the chemistry between members of the band on stage and their totally undeniable instrumental talent are fantastic, and seeing the band live, there just is no weakness to their sound at all – every song hits the spot entirely.

The utterly spine-tingling keys in ‘Thistle & Weeds’ was one of the musical highlights of the evening, and the altogether darker mood of the song shows an ability to adapt to different musical feels, something that could stand the band in enormously good stead for growing their music further in the coming months and years.

To sum it all up in a sentence, seeing Mumford & Sons live just leaves you wanting more – in the best possible way. They’ve got a couple of dates left on this tour, and as much I’d love to tell you to go out and see them, these are rightfully sold out. Better luck next time, chaps. You best pre-book.