Some questions and comments about Mumford & Sons not being Country have started to really drive me bonkers. So I decided that we need to get some things straight.
I’ve been asked numerous times “Why do guys play Mumford & Sons? They ain’t Country!” Or I’ll get, “Umm Mumford & Sons isn’t country they were playing them on 94.5 and Mix 96.5.”
My question is then, WHAT IS COUNTRY MUSIC? What makes a group Country or not? Or what makes a song Country or not?
Are banjos country? If so, if we want to talk about the song itself, uhh, the last time I checked “I Will Wait” is filled with banjos. So there!
As for the argument, “Well 94.5 and Mix 96.5 played the song first.” My answer is, Good for them! Just because 94.5 played it doesn’t mean anything to me. I mean L.B.S (let’s be serious), when is the last time you heard a rock song that had a banjo in it? Yeah! Said NO ONE EVER! If anything, I think it should sound weird to you if you hear that song on a rock station! Especially one a station that plays Audioslave or something.
Also, if you say “Well Erin they don’t even look Country.” Do the brothers in The Band Perry “look” Country? Does Brantley Gilbert “look” Country?
So then what is Country anymore if a song like “I Will Wait” by Mumford & Sons that’s filled with banjos isn’t Country? In my opinion, Mumford and Sons is probably the most authentic Country sounding group on the radio right now. Just saying!
