This past weekend was Mumford & Sons Troy Stopover as part of the Gentlemen of the Road tour. Another one of those weekend music festivals that now require much more recovery time than years back. Or maybe I’m just having more fun at my old age.

Campers

My good friend Will lives in Troy, Ohio and he offered his place for us to crash so that we didn’t have to sleep on the floodplain with thousands of others. With that said, I’m sure the on site campground was a good time. I was just glad to have some air conditioning to escape to with the rather hot and humid weather outside.

Under The Tracks

Oh yeah, I’m sure the 4 A.M. wake up calls provided by the passing train weren’t on the top of anyone’s weekend highlights from the campground.

Main Stage

Four bands played the main stage inside the Troy High School football stadium on Friday night. Half Moon Run, a Canadian indie rock band, was my favorite from the day. Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros were the headliners of the night. I thought their set started off really slow, so I found some dinner toward the end of their set. I’m told that the last couple songs they played were great though.

Troy Stadium

Seven bands played the main stage on Saturday afternoon and evening. I only made it in for three of those, but I think they were three of the better of the day. The Vaccines are an English indie rock band and they played a good set of music while we all found our spots for the night as well as a beverage or two. Next was Old Crow Medicine Show, a great bluegrass band. They had Marcus Mumford (and others) come out on stage for an awesome rendition of Wagon Wheel to close out their set.

Mumford & Sons took the stage next and it was amazing! I’m told 35,000 people crammed into the stadium, many singing every word of every song. Their fourteen song set was then capped off by a five song encore. First covering Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” before silencing the crowd for an amazing a capella version of “Sister.” Then another cover was played, this time was a cool take on The Beatle’s “Come Together” which then launched into the amazing duo of “Babel” and finally “The Cave.” It was my second time seeing the band play, and they were even better than the first time.

Market Street Stage

In addition to the concerts taking place in the main arena, there were two stages into the downtown Troy square with local bands playing day and night. I caught the end of a great set from “The Floorwalkers” out of Columbus. The square was free for everyone with a main stage wristband and just $5 for anyone without.

Elks Lodge

There were also small after shows and events taking place throughout the rest of the weekend. We spent our late nights at the Elks Lodge for bluegrass jams and outdoor DJ dance parties. It was a great way to cap off each day of music. If you get the change to attend a future Stopover, I would very highly recommend it. I would love to do it again.