Mumford and Sons Bring Gentlemen of the Road Fest to Dixon, Illinois (PHOTOS)

Dixon welcomed some estimated 15,000 fans with open arms and a big bear hug. Signs all over town welcomed Mumford and Sons devoteses, even at the local Walmart. One mural in town called it the "The British Invasion" and hailed the band as "The New Fab Four." Most drove in from all over the Midwest -- Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa and Michigan -- and slept at nearby campgrounds. Instead of upping security, Dixon upped the celebration factor. Downtown was closed off to traffic and an outdoor stage along the river had music playing late night on both Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday's mini-festival main event brought bands Apache Relay, Nathaniel Rateliff, Abigail Washburn, HAIM, Dawes, Gogol Bordello, the Very Best, in addition to Mumford and Sons to the city's Page Park, just a quick walk across the river from downtown.

This was Dawes' third stopover and the band is super bummed they won't be there for the final show in Monterey, Calif. on Aug. 25, due to prior commitments. Their evening set included their indie radio-friendly single "When My Time Comes" and newbie "From a Window Seat."

"These shows would sell out without any of these bands, except for Mumford," admits Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith. "These bands are bands that nobody has really heard of or only heard of remotely. It's not like they need Dawes to sell tickets, that's for sure, especially a place like Dixon where we've never been. It just goes to show this is really Mumford's way of saying, 'This is what we like, and this is what we want to represent and share with people.'"

The stopovers even bring on special moments. "There was a night after our show in Providence, R.I. where my good buddy John [McCauley] from the band Deer Tick came to the show and afterwards we and Marcus and a bunch of the guys from the tour, all went to this bar that could only fit 30 people and we all just sang songs until it closed for the people that were there. It was so fun and I feel that was sort of indicative of the spirit of this whole thing."

"I know it sounds cheesy, but Mumford and Sons really put their heart into these festivals," says Este Haim, who along with sisters Alana and Danielle make up HAIM. "Everyone cares about each other, everyone is excited for each other. They've all been side stage to every single show." Sure enough members of Mumford, Dawes and the Very Best, even Reggie Watts watched HAIM kick things off earlier in the day after Abigail Washburn's set.

HAIM put out their flawless EP of three-part harmonies, punchy guitar riffs and '80s pop-driven vocals this past February. "Most of the people who come here don't know who we are," admits Este, "but we like to think that by the end of the set they are fans. All the crowds have been awesome."

"I feel like a princess even though we were only the second band that played," adds Alana. "There is not one show the Mumford guys won't be side stage for. They support every single band. It's not like it's Mumford and Sons' thing and they only come in when they have to play and then leave. They are here from before everyone gets here. They have a party the night before. It feels like summer camp but with the most amazing people. They are like our brothers now. I consider them family."

During their own set, Mumford and Sons introduced the crowd to their forthcoming second LP, Babel. The band played new songs like "Lovers' Eyes," "Whispers in the Dark," "Below My Feet," "Lover of the Light" and the recently released "I Will Wait," which seemingly everyone in the audience already knew by heart. There were the old favorites too, like the raucous "Little Lion Man" and brooding "Awake My Soul." So enthusiastic was the crowd that they drowned out Marcus Mumford when singing along to "Winter Winds," prompting the frontman to exclaim "you're fucking ridiculous!" in approval. The band welcomed "Uncle Jerry" -- aka dobro master Jerry Douglas who was in town to play a Gentlemen of the Road aftershow that night at the Dixon Theater -- onstage for a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer." The rest of the Gentlemen of the Road bands joined for a group encore, the fitting cover of the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends."

"We're getting onstage with our friends and watching our buddies take solos and it's just such a big part of it for us," Goldsmith explained earlier in the day of those Gentlemen of the Road encore moments. "Getting to hang out with Apache Relay and all these bands we've gotten to know these last few weeks, and getting to all get up onstage at the end of the night, is us getting to celebrate that in front of people."

But things weren't over just yet after Mumford and Sons' set. The bands took a golf cart over to the second stage for the closing set from the Very Best, who live up to their name thanks to their genre-bending music, a mix of Afro-pop and electronica that is impossible not to dance to (and should not be missed live.) Made up of London based DJ/producer Johan Hugo and Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya, and joined by percussionist Magatte Sow and London singer/guitarist Seye, the band created one of the Dixon stopover's most incredible moments. During the band's insanely ass-shaking "We OK," Winston Marshall jumped into the crowd and crowd surfed while the other GOTR bands danced on stage. During their Michael Jackson remix of "Will You Be There," HAIM lit sparklers and sang along. The Very Best's unprecedented sound at times sounds like reggae, other times like hip-hop or house music, but at no time do you stop dancing to its tribal percussions, making it the perfect soundtrack for fun.

"We met Mumford and Sons for the first time when we toured Australia four years ago," explains Hugo. "We only had a mixtape out at that point and they showed up as Very Best fans. We've worked with a lot of people -- MIA and Vampire Weekend -- on our last album, but Mumford and Sons are the guys that keep on going out of their way to do everything they can for us." Marshall appears on the bonus track "Tisamale" off the band's new album MTMTMK, a contender for album year-end lists.

"This is some of the biggest shows we've done where nobody or very few know who we are originally, which is really fun," says Hugo. "It's great to see their reaction when people don't know us. There was a guy in the front with the Malawian flag, so he obviously knew."

"This moment was one of our favorite moments," says Esau of their Dixon Gentlemen of the Road set. "This was an amazing night." The only better way to describe it perhaps? Magical.



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