It’s been some time since Mumford & Sons hit the road with an arena production, with their last, the Delta Tour, wrapping up in early 2019. Covering the show at Manchester’s AO Arena back then, one element all the crew mentioned at the time was the flexibility the band brought to their live offering – with changing setlists and instruments, as well as one or two trips out into the crowd, being common occurrences. Suffice to say, despite the break and the release of a new album, these hallmarks remain.
The difference this time around is several new faces joining the ranks, including Production Manager Andrew Thornton and Tour Manager Carlina Gugliotta. Having most recently worked side by side for Meghan Trainor, the duo jumped into 2025 with the band. Prior to the autumn arena tour, the band set out on several smaller campaigns, including the Railroad Revival Tour – a four-stop, train-based run of shows.
“There are quite a few of us that are new to the band,” stated Thornton, who brought many of these new crew out on these smaller runs before the preceding arena tour. “This included a few of my regulars in the production team, such as Duncan Ladkin, Stage Manager, Production Coordinator ‘CJ’ Harrison and Road Manager Bales Karlin.”
The tour also saw a few new suppliers, including Solotech providing the triple threat of audio, lighting, and video. Meanwhile, the production also brought on TAIT (staging and automation), Ox Event House (scenic), Reed Rigging (rigging), Strictly FX (SFX), Upstaging (trucking), Dreamliner (buses), and Freight Minds (freighting). Also on board for the first time was Rebus – a newly rebranded production arm of Treatment Studios overseen by Willie Williams, Mike Smith, and Chris Booth.
Off the back of working for acts such as Harry Styles and Shawn Mendes, Thornton commented on the difference working for the Mumford contingent. “Carlina and I are used to working on ‘structured’ pop tours. Setlists are established way in advance, and everything is strict and choreographed to timecode – however, this tour is the opposite,” he said.
“The setlist is amended on a daily basis,” Gugliotta remarked. Both described enjoying this different way of working. “There is no doubt it brings its own stresses, but there is also a part that makes it really fun and all about the music,” Thornton said.
The production goals were certainly quite ambitious compared to some of the band’s previous tours. “In the US, we are travelling with 16 trucks from Upstaging with seven buses from Dreamliner,” stated the PM. “I suppose these days that would be classed as a medium-sized show, but it is a decent scale of production, and we’re loading in at 7am most days to be ready for soundcheck at 4pm.”
Thornton highlighted the value of having Solotech provide audio, lighting, and video packages. “Having to quote one project manager is very useful with individual project managers overseeing each department. On this tour, I can tap into the vast experience of Luther Edmonds, Paul ‘Macca’ McCauley, and Oli James.”
Lee Moro, Senior Vice President for Live Productions at Solotech commented: “We have been working with Mumford and Sons for a decade, only missing a couple runs – it’s great to see the band on top of their game and love seeing them embracing such a beautiful and ambitious design. Solotech has always been on the front line in supplying 360 tours. Having your teams work together is beneficial and Solotech does it incredibly well. Andrew and other productions are seeing the efficiencies of all coming from one place, from early planning as one team to daily implementation.”
In closing, the PM was keen to shout out the work of Head Rigger Colin Raby and supplier Reed Rigging. “The build is quite intricate and specialised, but Colin and the team at Reed have been really good,” he noted.
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Words: Stew Hume
Photos: TAIT and Natt Lim
