Mumford treasure their greatest week

The Cave by Glassnotemusic

Courtesy of Kmeron, Marcus Mumford

Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett, Ted Dwane. These are the four names that everyone will hear for years to come. After releasing the strongest debut album I have ever grown to love, I can only imagine that the decade will be dominated by Mumford & Sons.

I'm pretty sure that they will be quite pleased with their past week. For a band that formed in late 2007 I doubt that anyone could have predicted that they would be flying so high right now.

As if nominations at the BRITS for British Breakthrough Act and British Group were not enough, they also received Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song. Oh, and within two days they performed live at the Grammys with Bob Dylan and picked up the British Album of the Year award. Now that's what I call a good week.

So, how can four country-dressed boys from West London bring folk back to the mainstream audience?

The exploding banjo rants along with the heart-wrenching mandolin rhythms have created the perfect balance to attract a much wider range of listeners than most. The lads from London have revolutionised the city's music scene showing the world that although N-Dubz and Chipmunk are amazing...they have some other talents too.

Courtesy of Kmeron, Ben Lovett

They really have taken the world by storm over the last two years with their overpowering folk-rave. Their debut album Sigh No More has been incredibly successful worldwide; achieving number one spots in Australia and Ireland. Following their performances and involvement at the award ceremonies, their album has shot to number two in the UK and, more impressively, the US.

The album held true British anthems such as 'Little Lion Man' and 'The Cave' (in player above), which have achieved great success, with the former up for a Grammy award. However, it was the beautiful ability for the album to flow so naturally with such a solid structure throughout and not a weak point anywhere to be seen.

With their powerful and memorable performance at last year's Glastonbury Festival they stamped their place in British music forever. Their nominations at the BRITS were expected by many, and few could disagree with their presence.

They have extended their tour to include several dates in Scotland and Ireland in order to showcase new material for a smaller venue of fans. An intimate headline slot at London's Dingwalls for the Shockwave NME Awards this week will be a great opportunity for fan feedback. They will need to go beyond what is expected of them if they are to produce another world-beating album like Sigh No More.

Laura Marling Devil's Spoke Normal by user2199337

Courtesy of The Queen's Hall, Laura Marling

Folk has been the talk of the musical town recently with singer/songwriter Laura Marling picking up an unexpected British Female Solo Artist award at this week's BRITS. Her follow-up album I Speak Because I Can has touched hearts stretching outside the UK and although she has not been as commercially successful as Mumford, it shows that the genuine musical talents are being noticed in this country. Apologies Cheryl.

Mumford have officially stamped their mark on making folk an incredibly dominating genre in popular music. And I can't see it changing while they're still around. Bring on album number two.

Below are all the nominations for the BRITS 2011 and the 2011 Grammy Awards involving Mumford & Sons and Laura Marling. In bold italics are the winners of each category.

The 2011 Brit Awards

British Female Solo Artist

Cheryl Cole

Ellie Goulding

Laura Marling

Paloma Faith
Rumer

British Breakthrough Act

Ellie Goulding

Mumford & Sons

Rumer Warner

Tinie Tempah

The XX

British Group

Biffy Clyro

Gorillaz

Mumford & Sons 
Take That

The XX

British Album of the Year

Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More

Plan B – The Defamation of Strickland Banks

Take That – Progress

Tinie Tempah – Disc-Overy

The XX – XX

The 2011 Grammy Awards

Best New Artist

Justin Bieber

Drake

Florence & The Machine

Mumford & Sons

Esperanza Spalding

Best Rock Song

Neil Young – 'Angry World'

Mumford & Sons – 'Little Lion Man'

Kings of Leon – 'Radioactive'

Muse – 'Resistance'

The Black Keys – 'Tighten Up'