“Ladies and gentleman, we are live for the main event!” It was the message tens of thousands of fans had been waiting hours for Thursday night as the stage lights and video screens turned on at Wrigley Field at 10:43 p.m. After persistent delays from the severe weather that rocked the Chicago area, Mumford & Sons finally brought its Prizefighter Tour to life at the ballpark, though questions lingered if it was a total knockout victory against Mother Nature or one bad call to let the show go on at all.
Wrigley Field has batted a thousand with its concert schedule over the last 21 years, never canceling a show outright due to weather, even though long delays and adjusted set times have been commonplace for previous dates with Pearl Jam, Chris Stapleton and Billy Joel. Rain or shine is a typical policy for the industry but cases of extreme weather typically usurp that standard. When doors opened at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday night, Cook County was under a tornado warning, which was issued after 8 p.m. and expired less than an hour later. A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect until 9 p.m. Lightning crackled in the sky as fans finally entered the Friendly Confines.
Throughout the day, many ticketholders had aired disapproval on social media for organizers’ decisions and the lack of consistent and timely communication. The first official update came in at 2:30 p.m. with Wrigley Field and the band informing fans they were monitoring weather patterns and that gates were still scheduled to open at 5 p.m. Less than a half-hour before that scheduled time, the band posted that the opening of gates was pushed to 8:30 p.m. with Mumford & Sons taking the stage at 10 p.m. and the opening acts, Caamp and Dylan Gossett, sacrificed due to the adjusted timeframe.
Fans make their way into Wrigley Field for the Mumford and Sons concert after severe storms delayed the show Thursday. Throughout the day, many ticketholders had aired disapproval on social media for organizers’ decisions and the lack of consistent and timely communication.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Fans make their way into Wrigley Field for the Mumford and Sons concert after severe storms delayed the show Thursday. Many fans online called for organizers to postpone the show and reschedule, citing how Jimmy Eat World and Northerly Island had done so hours prior.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Due to the timing of notifications, a number of fans had already made the trek to Wrigleyville and were left stranded as the height of the severe weather moved in, leading to numerous comments for organizers to postpone the show and reschedule, citing how Jimmy Eat World and Northerly Island had done so hours prior.
Also at issue was that Wrigley Field traditionally has a strict 11 p.m. curfew for night events, though the band played until about 12:30 a.m. with neighbors voicing concerns over noise levels, including a large series of fireworks that went off when Mumford & Sons opened with “Begin Again,” nearly 45 minutes after the newly updated set time. Organizers face a minimum $45,000 fine, according to the 44th Ward office.
Wrigley Field declined to comment, deferring to Live Nation.
“The safety of fans, artists, staff and crew is always our top priority. Weather conditions were monitored closely with updates provided as information became available. The event proceeded only after venue management, city officials and weather experts determined it was safe to do so,” Live Nation said in a statement. The statement did not elaborate on whether Mumford & Sons would incur the hefty fine written into the bylaws of the neighborhood noise ordinance.
Mumford & Sons didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
For the many fans who excitedly stuck it out, they did get quite the show in the end as Mumford & Sons rallied to deliver a full headlining performance, effectively kicking off Wrigley Field’s 2026 concert season that is heavy on folk acts. In the coming weeks, Noah Kahan and Tyler Childers will also perform at the ballpark.
“Well we made it Chicago! Thanks so much for being patient with us. … I can’t believe everyone is in. This is insane!” singer Marcus Mumford declared upon seeing the large crowd before him. The show was technically sold out though there were some pockets of empty seats left. “We have to thank the city of Chicago for being so kind and even letting us blow s— up back here way after hours. This has been the show we’ve been looking forward to pretty much the most out of all this tour. And we’re so happy to be here with you.”
Mumford and his band compadres Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane were joined by seven additional instrumentalists packing in a range of acoustic and electric guitar, fiddle and violin, horns, banjo, upright bass, drums, keys and lap steel for a full embellishment of the band’s folk-country-bluegrass melting pot.
As they ripped through energetic romps of “Lover of the Light” (with Mumford playing drums on the track) and the serenade track “Believe,” it was edification to justify the band’s recent nomination for Duo/Group of the Year at the 2026 Americana Honors & Awards.
The band largely stuck to its bread-and-butter folk songbook, with some numbers like the “Prizefighter” title track and “Badlands” way too slow and drawn out for this late-night hour. But the energy quickly picked up with the Southern rock swagger of “Truth,” accompanied by a swath of fireballs and the near hoedown of “The Cave.” For the anthemic rocker “Ditmas,” Mumford used it as a chance to embark on a spirited run through the ballpark much to fans’ delight. Later, Lovett shouted out to those in the rafters as a “reminder of what it’s like to be the person in the back of the room.”
Mumford & Sons also graciously gave space for the canceled openers too, inviting Dylan Gossett for a duet on “Here” (originally featuring Chris Stapleton on the recorded track) and covering Caamp’s “All The Debts I Owe” with singer Taylor Meier. That song, along with “Timshel” and “Reminder,” were performed at a small B stage near the first baseline as the core three members of Mumford & Sons quietly huddled up with a sole acoustic guitar and were successful in their mission to “get 50,000 Chicagoans to shut the f— up at the same time” to hear the tender melodies.
By the time the band returned to the main stage for a solid closer of hits “Rushmere” and “I Will Wait,” Mumford was decked out in his own personalized Cubs jersey to remember the night as the rest of us would, for better or worse. “Chicago always sticks with us, we f—— love you, we f—— love our crew, we love the people in this building,” he said. “We’re so grateful to you.”
Contributing: Elijah James
Mumford & Sons set list for June 11, 2026, show at Wrigley Field
Begin Again
Babel
Little Lion Man
White Blank Page
Awake My Soul
Lover of the Light
Hopeless Wanderer
Prizefighter
Badlands
Believe
Truth
Ditmas
The Cave
Here (with Dylan Gossett)
Rubber Band Man
Delta
The Wolf
Timshel
Reminder
All the Debts I Owe (Caamp cover, with Caamp’s Taylor Meier)
Rushmere
The Banjo SongI
Will Wait
Conversation with My Son (Gangsters and Angels)