Mumford and Sons Keep Up 'Hectic' Pace With Sold-Out Tour

It's rare that a rookie band can outsell Eminem week after week on iTunes, but that's one of many achievements for British rootsy quartet Mumford and Sons. On top of that, their 2009-released debut album, 'Sigh No More,' hit the Billboard 200's Top 20 in September.

Still, namesake and frontman Marcus Mumford has barely had time to notice the band's sales success, such is the constant pace of their touring schedule. "Really, wow," he says to Spinner, clearly lost for words. "I had no idea that was happening. That is bizarre. I definitely wouldn't know about that though."

This chart action is all the more phenomenal given the fact that the band doesn't play accessible pop, rock or hip-hop, but takes its musical cues from country, bluegrass, and folk. If Mumford attributes the band's recent success to anything, it's a simple, strong commitment to their music. Their noses have been placed firmly to the grindstone, touring both Europe and North America and performing around 250 gigs in the last 12 months.

"It's been hectic, but good," says Mumford. " It's been hard work, you've got to work for these things. We were prepared and willing to work hard. Luckily, it's doing what we enjoy."

The band kicks off a sold-out tour at the Hollywood Palladium on Oct. 18, and as far as the band's next step, Mumford says they're taking a two-month break before beginning work on the next record. One thing he does know is that their debut album is just the beginning for the band musically.

"We're still a young band," he says. "This is our first album and so we've got a lot more to do. In terms of the music we make, we're not set in one corner. We'd never call ourselves a bluegrass band or a folk band. We don't know what we are and we don't really want to know.