‘I don’t think ever has a nation of this size produced so many impactful artists’

Check out the latest rapid fire Q&A with Marcus Mumford before Mumford & Sons’ Malahide Castle gig below

Marcus Mumford praised Ireland’s musical legacy before Mumford & Sons’ Malahide Castle performance earlier this month.

He told Hot Press ahead of the show: ‘I don’t think ever has a nation of this size produced so many impactful artists.’

The frontman named a list of Irish influences that have shaped both his taste and the band’s, citing U2, The Dubliners, The Pogues and The Cranberries as his favourite Irish artists.

In the clip, the musician named Hozier as his current favourite Irish artist and described CMAT’s ‘Ah Shoot’ as his current ‘jam,’ calling himself an ‘OG CMAT fan.’

He also cited U2’s The Joshua Tree as one of his all-time favourite albums.

Mumford & Sons first played on Irish soil back in 2009 at The Academy in Dublin.

The band’s beginnings were rooted in pub sessions, and their sound, though not strictly folk, carries traces of traditional music.

Marcus noted in a 2017 interview with Hot Press that their affinity with Ireland has even helped shape their reception across the Atlantic: ‘It’s because everyone out there thinks we’re Irish,’ he joked.

‘You go out there and you discover that Americans fucking love the Irish – love them.’

The band has long spoken of their love for performing in Ireland, and the influence its artists have had on them. ‘We also love touring Scotland and Ireland, going back to our Celtic routes,’ they once said.

‘And wanted to take the chance to play some beautiful smaller towns that often get ignored on the more traditional touring routes. We figured that playing smaller shows would take us back to the beginning of our touring lives again.’