Munjoy Hill neighborhood braces for influx of 15,000 Mumford & Sons fans

The highly anticipated Aug. 4 concert on the Eastern Promenade by the hit British folk rock band Mumford & Sons promises to attract about 15,000 people to the hill, which, even considering how popular a walking and fetch-playing site as the Eastern Prom is, will represent a much more crowded environment than the neighborhood is used to.

www.MumfordandSons.com

And rock concerts — especially daylong rock concerts headlined by Billboard 200 charters — can be loud, raucous things, attended by folks who don’t always do a great job picking up after themselves.

The big deal in terms of Portland’s music scene is that Mumford & Sons selected only four sites in America for this exclusive tour, and that the band’s new album is due to hit shelves the following month, suggesting that the Eastern Prom will be a prime location to hear the freshest material the group has in its repertoire.

So on Tuesday, the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Association is holding a public event to discuss the potential impacts of the show. (Tuesday may be a big day for Mumford & Sons fans — keep reading for an “in-case-you-missed-it” update on the band’s just-announced visit to the Scarborough Bull Moose.) Here’s an excerpt from an association announcement of the forum, sent out earlier this week:

Friends of the Eastern Promenade and the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization will host a community forum regarding the Mumford & Sons music festival at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 24 at the East End Community School.

Representatives from the city and the State Theatre, the festival’s promoter, will share information about the event, including traffic management, parking, security and cleanup, and answer questions from residents.

… The concert is expected to draw about 15,000 fans. According to the current festival schedule, gates will open at noon with music ending at 9 p.m. Munjoy Hill will be closed off to non-resident vehicles on the day of the concert. The site will be surrounded by a high security fence, with an enclosed beer garden monitored by city staff.

A portion of the proceeds from the festival will benefit Friends of the Eastern Promenade. FoEP and MHNO are working with the city and the concert promoters to represent the interests of the park and the neighborhood. MHNO provided details on the event for residents at its annual meeting in June.

The State Theatre released another 3,000 tickets for the event last week. The newly released tickets were offered on Thursday and Friday exclusively in Portland in an effort to give locals a head start on the tickets. Remaining tickets are now on sale on the band’s Gentlemen of the Road tour website.

Also, in case you missed it posted on our Facebook page yesterday, Mumford & Sons plans to make the most of their Maine visit by playing a live set at the Scarborough Bull Moose music store on Aug. 3, the day before the Eastern Prom show.

You can get into that intimate performance by pre-ordering the band’s forthcoming album “Babel” at any Bull Moose store, also on Tuesday, July 24.

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.