Sierra Ferrell joins Mumford & Sons' SNL set as Hozier, Dessner make surprise appearances
sierra ferrell appeared onstage with Mumford & Sons during the band’s fourth Saturday Night Live appearance, joining Aaron Dessner and the group for the opening track "Here" from their new album Prizefighter. The band also opened the Feb. 28 set with "Rubber Band Man, " a collaboration featuring Hozier and co-written by Brandi Carlile, marking Mumford & Sons’ first late-night visit since 2018.
Fourth SNL visit on Feb. 28: two Prizefighter songs and more
The trio returned to Studio 8H for a Feb. 28 musical segment built around Prizefighter, which had been released on Feb. 20. They performed two songs from the record live: they opened with "Rubber Band Man" and later played the album’s opening track, "Here. " The set also drew from other Prizefighter material, with the band performing additional songs such as "The Banjo Song. " This was the band’s fourth appearance on the show and their first since their 2018 appearance promoting the album Delta.
Hozier and Aaron Dessner join for the live moments
Hozier walked out to join the band for a live delivery of "Rubber Band Man, " emerging from side stage to reprise his guest vocal from the studio version. Aaron Dessner, who co-produced on the project, augmented the arrangement on electric guitar and also joined onstage for the second song. The collaboration carried commercial weight: the studio collaboration had spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. Hozier’s appearance was his first major outing since wrapping the Unreal Unearth tour in October 2025.
Sierra Ferrell joins for "Here"; Chris Stapleton’s album role noted
Sierra Ferrell joined Mumford & Sons and Dessner for the live performance of "Here, " the album’s opening track. On the Prizefighter recording, that song is sung by Chris Stapleton; Stapleton was performing roughly two hours away that same night in Uncasville, Ct. The live configuration differed from the album version, with Ferrell supplying the guest vocal presence onstage.
Band members, producers and internal praise: Marcus Mumford and Ted Dwane weigh in
Marcus Mumford, 39, called Prizefighter his favorite of the group’s albums several months out from its release, saying the record felt like the band could "talk straight" and that it represented the essence of who they are. Co-founder Ted Dwane, 41, praised Aaron Dessner’s production work, saying, "Dessner, he just feels like a real ally. " Dwane noted the band had long been fans of Dessner’s group and that they first worked with him while preparing their third record, Wilder Mind.
Warm-up secret show, sketch cameos and personnel notes
The band warmed up for the broadcast with a hastily organized secret show the previous Tuesday at the 500-capacity Music Hall of Williamsburg, performing unamplified while backed by a four-piece string section and extra singers. On the broadcast itself, Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane made a cameo in a sketch about an ill-advised workplace dance, during which they played a snippet of "Unchained Melody. " The current Prizefighter run is the group’s second album release in less than a year; Rushmere, released last March, was their first record as a trio after guitarist and banjoist Winston Marshall left the band in part because of political differences with his bandmates.
Host, sketches and a surprise introduction on the night
The episode was hosted by Connor Storrie, a 26-year-old Canadian actor best known for his role as Shane Hollander on the series Heated Rivalry, making his debut as host. In his opening monologue he brought out members of the U. S. women’s Olympic hockey team, who recently won gold, alongside the U. S. men’s squad to play up the contrast with the men’s 40-plus year gold medal drought. A late-night sketch filmed at the Rink at Rockefeller Center featured an unannounced cameo from Hudson Williams; Williams and Storrie, who play rival hockey players on Heated Rivalry, skated together and Williams later returned to Studio 8H to join Storrie in introducing Mumford & Sons.
Tour routing: secret warm-up to an expansive world run through October
The band will begin an extensive world tour on April 24 in Melbourne. Their immediate routing includes dates in Australia and New Zealand in April, before hitting North America in June and then Europe. They are scheduled to be back in the United States through October and are lined up to headline Louisville, Kentucky’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival.
sierra ferrell’s onstage appearance, the surprise arrival of Hozier and the presence of Aaron Dessner capped an evening that blended surprise guest spots with theatrical sketches and prepared the band for a broad tour run.
