Mumford & Sons, live at the O2

The O2 is buzzing as fans excitedly wait for London folk pop lords Mumford & Sons to take to the stage. The band have gone from strength to strength since the release of their 2009 debut Sigh No More, with latest offering Babel storming the charts earlier this year both here and across the pond.

Tonight sees the waistcoat-wearing, banjo-strummin' four-piece visit the O2 as part of a stadium tour showcasing both collections. And they go down a storm.

Oft criticised for producing watered-down, (whisper it) mainstream folk - an unfair accusation in this reporter's opinion - the Mumford live show does exactly what it says on the tin; offering whopper, heartfelt, singalong folky anthems.

Kicking off with Babel's title track, Marcus & Co. dip in and out of both albums for a whopping 16 songs, inviting both mass singalongs ('Below My Feet'), and smoochy candlelit moments ('Timshel'). It's Sigh No More's 'Little Lion Man' though that really gets this crowd going. As soon as its strummy opening bars ring out, perfect strangers excitedly clambour on to each other's shoulders, swaying (quite dangerously, it has to be said) for the entire song as they scream along with every word.

And throughout the show, the boys give it their all. A six-piece orchestra helps give their sound that extra oomph, with the band's harmonies as spot-on as they are on record. Marcus shows us he's no one-trick pony, hopping on drums for 'Lover Of The Light', while support act Dawes come back onstage for a lovely group rendition of 'Awake My Soul'.