It wasn't just a concert. Honestly, if you were sitting in the grass at the Champlain Valley Expo on that humid Thursday night in August 2025, you knew it felt like something else entirely. People are still talking about it. Not just because of the music, but because of the weird, magical, and occasionally chaotic energy that took over Essex Junction.
Mumford and Sons Essex VT was the final stop on the resurrected Railroad Revival Tour. For those who don't know, this isn't your typical "bus-to-city" tour. The band literally travels by vintage rail. They pulled into Vermont after hitting New Orleans and Virginia, bringing a massive entourage of folk-rock royalty with them.
The Night the Trains Stopped in Essex
The buzz started weeks before. By the time August 7, 2025, rolled around, the show was a complete sell-out. Local police were basically begging people to stay away from Pearl Street because the traffic was a nightmare. Resale tickets were hitting $200 and up.
Why the hype?
It's Vermont. We love our folk music, sure. But Marcus Mumford has this way of turning a field into a cathedral. Plus, there was the "Friends" part of the billing. When they announced the lineup, it looked like a dream team:
- Noah Kahan (the local hero)
- Grace Potter (the state’s rock queen)
- Mike Gordon of Phish
- Trombone Shorty
- Madison Cunningham
- Chris Thile
Basically, if you play an instrument with strings or a mouthpiece, you were probably on that stage.
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Chaos in the Crowd: Why the Music Stopped
Here is the part most people get wrong about the night. Social media was buzzing the next morning about the band walking off stage. Some people thought it was a "diva" moment. It wasn't.
It was actually pretty scary for a minute. The humidity in Essex that night was no joke. A few songs into the set—specifically during a slower track—Marcus and the band stopped dead. They saw people fainting in the front of the pit.
"It was weird," one fan posted on Reddit. "They just pointed, looked concerned, and walked off. I thought someone threw something, but they were just giving the medics room to work."
They actually had to stop the show twice. Both times, they handled it like pros. They didn't just stand there; they went side-stage to let the "code red" get handled. When they came back out, they didn't try to restart the slow song. They pivoted. They launched into a heavy, high-energy rock track to reset the mood. It worked.
The "Noah Kahan" Factor
You cannot talk about Mumford and Sons Essex VT without talking about Noah Kahan. He’s the pride of Strafford, and the crowd went absolutely feral when he walked out.
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Seeing Marcus Mumford and Noah Kahan share a mic is one of those "I was there" moments. They have this similar raw, gravelly vocal energy that just filled the entire Grandstand area. But it wasn't just Noah.
Mike Gordon from Phish brought his daughter, Tessa, out to help cover Gillian Welch’s “Look at Miss Ohio.” It felt deeply local. It didn't feel like a touring machine passing through; it felt like a community bonfire where the guests just happened to be world-famous.
Noise Complaints and the "Fence-Line" Reality
Let’s get nerdy for a second. If you live in Essex Junction, you know the Champlain Valley Expo (CVE) has a complicated relationship with sound.
The city actually deployed Sound Level Meters (SLMs) at the east, west, and south boundaries of the property during the show. There’s a whole 2025 report from the Community Development Director about it. Surprisingly, despite the "big band" sound—we're talking banjos, horns, and drums all at once—the show stayed under the 78 dBA hourly average limit.
Basically, it was loud enough to feel in your chest, but not loud enough to get the CVE in legal trouble.
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What the Setlist Looked Like
The flow of the night was intentionally messy in the best way. They didn't just play the hits and leave. They played:
- Babel (The classic opener)
- Little Lion Man (Which still gets the loudest sing-along in history)
- Truth (With Chris Thile absolutely shredding on the mandolin)
- The Wolf (Madison Cunningham took the lead here)
The finale was a cover of The Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends.” Maggie Rogers made a surprise appearance for that one. Imagine about twenty world-class musicians on one stage, all shouting the chorus. It was loud. It was sweaty. It was perfect.
Actionable Takeaways for the Next Big CVE Show
If you missed this one and are planning for the next big event at the Champlain Valley Expo, learn from the Mumford experience.
- Avoid Pearl Street: If there’s a sell-out show, the traffic will move at roughly 2 mph. Park further out in Essex and walk if you can.
- Hydrate Early: The "passing out" incidents were a mix of heat, alcohol, and the dense crowd. The CVE doesn't have much shade in the Grandstand area.
- Check the "Rail" Tradition: If it's a Railroad Revival show, the band often hangs out near the tracks or does smaller pop-up sets. Always keep an eye on local social media the morning of the show.
Mumford and Sons Essex VT proved that Vermont is a destination for more than just jam bands. It showed that when you mix world-class talent with a specific, local sense of place, you get something that stays with the town long after the tour bus (or train) leaves.
The next time you hear "The Cave" on the radio, just remember there was a night in Essex where that song felt like it belonged to us. If you're looking for photos or the full sound report, the City of Essex Junction archives actually have the technical data, while Higher Ground’s social feeds still have the best fan-shot clips of the Noah Kahan collab.
Plan your travel to Essex Junction early for 2026 events, as the venue is looking to replicate this "festival-in-a-day" model more often. Keep your tickets on a digital wallet, as the cellular signal at the Expo usually dies the moment 10,000 people try to upload a video at the same time.