Mumford And Sons Surprise With Hozier, Dessner on SNL During Prizefighter Performances
mumford and sons appeared on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on Feb. 28, performing two tracks from their new Glassnote album Prizefighter with surprise guest collaborators. The timing matters because the band is launching an extensive world tour in April and the televised set underscored Prizefighter’s collaborative production and its quick follow-up to last year’s Rushmere.
Mumford And Sons on SNL
The British trio made its fourth appearance on Saturday Night Live, returning to the late-night stage for the first time since 2018, when they promoted the album Delta. The group played two songs from Prizefighter and also popped up in a sketch: Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane cameoed in a bit about an ill-advised workplace dance and performed a short excerpt of “Unchained Melody. ”
Hozier and Aaron Dessner join on "Rubber Band Man"
They opened with “Rubber Band Man, ” a track co-written by Brandi Carlile and featuring Irish singer Hozier. Aaron Dessner, who co-produced Prizefighter and is a member of the National, augmented the performance on electric guitar; Hozier emerged from side stage to reprise the guest vocal heard on the studio version. The appearance also marked Hozier’s first major public performance since he wrapped his Unreal Unearth tour in October 2025.
"Here" features Chris Stapleton’s studio vocal and Sierra Ferrell on stage
For the second number, the band played “Here, ” the opening track on Prizefighter whose recorded vocal is sung by Chris Stapleton. On SNL, Mumford & Sons were joined by Dessner and singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell. Stapleton happened to be performing roughly two hours away that same night in Uncasville, Ct., making the SNL staging a different live presentation of the track’s guest-driven sound.
Secret warm-up at Music Hall of Williamsburg
The televised show followed a hastily organized warm-up on Tuesday at the 500-capacity Music Hall of Williamsburg. That secret performance was unamplified and featured the band backed by a four-piece string section and additional singers, a stripped-back setup that mirrored the collaborative, band-and-mates ethos they say underpins Prizefighter.
Prizefighter, prior changes and the upcoming tour
Prizefighter, released on the Glassnote label, logged a top 10 debut and is the band’s second album in less than a year. The previous release, Rushmere, arrived last March and was the group’s first record as a trio after guitarist and banjoist Winston Marshall left the band in part because of political differences with his bandmates. Marcus Mumford, 39, has described Prizefighter, several months out from its release, as his favorite of the group’s records to date and said it felt especially direct in capturing who the band is. Co-founder Ted Dwane, 41, praised Dessner’s production work and noted that the band had been fans of The National and that they first worked with Dessner while preparing their third album, Wilder Mind.
Tour dates, festival appearances and scheduling
The band will begin an extensive world tour on April 24 in Melbourne. Routing includes Australia and New Zealand in April, a North American leg beginning in June, and subsequent dates across Europe. Mumford & Sons will remain on the road in the United States through October and are scheduled to headline Louisville, Kentucky’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival during that run.
What makes this notable is how the live television moments and the intimate warm-up show together showcased Prizefighter’s collaborative production — with Dessner, Hozier and Sierra Ferrell all stepping into different roles — at a moment when the band is converting a rapid release schedule into an international touring campaign.
