After a summer of widespread festival dates, Mumford & Sons won't waste any time going indoors to play a hockey arena in Minnesota: The folky British pickers have confirmed a Sept. 4 date at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Fans have to register via a special link between now and July 3 to receive an email offer for tickets, which will be sent out lottery-style July 8. Any hassle that may cause should be eased by the fact that the seats are unusually cheap for an arena show, priced at $49 and $35.
The St. Paul gig -- which will arrive almost a year after the release of the band's second album "Babel" -- was a surprisingly long-time-coming for Twin Cities fans, who got in on the Mumford craze earlier than in most U.S. cities. Fellow Englishmen the Vaccines, known for the rocky hit "Post Break-Up Sex," will open.
The timing of the concert announcement seems unusual, given that the band had to cancel its Bonnaroo gig and several other dates this month after bassist Ted Dwayne was hospitalized with a blood clot on his brain. Apparently, though, Dwayne's surgery went well, and he will be ready to go.
