British band Mumford & Sons advocates 'voting plan' at Kamala Harris rally

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email to get exclusive U.S. reporting and analysis delivered to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

British band Mumford & Sons advised Americans to “make a voting plan” during their performance at a campaign rally for Kamala Harris.

“We’re Mumford & Sons and there’s nowhere else we’d rather be,” frontman Marcus Mumford, who is married to British actress Carey Mulligan and has a home in Devon, told the audience.

The British and Grammy Award-winning group performed hits such as “The Cave,” “Little Lion Man,” “Awake My Soul” and “I Will Wait.”

“We love this place, we love this state,” Mumford, 37, continued.

“I know it might not sound like it because I grew up in England, but I was born in America.

“I was born in California and last week it was a great honor for me to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz for President and Vice President of the United States of America.

“And I encourage you to get together with your friends, make a voting plan and go out and vote because every vote counts for you.”

Ms. Harris has harnessed star power by focusing on battleground states in her bid for the White House, with Beyoncé, Eminem and Bruce Springsteen appearing at her campaign rallies.

In Madison, Wisconsin, US singer Gracie Abrams appeared to address the frustration she says young voters share before Mumford & Sons took the stage.

It came after Abrams performed her tracks “I Love You,” “I'm Sorry,” “Risk” and “Free Now” to the cheering audience.

“We have inherited a world that is struggling and where it is easy to feel isolated and disillusioned between the advent of social media in our childhood and Covid and the relentless targeted disinformation,” the 25-year-old said.

“We've been through a lot and it's easy to get discouraged – but we know better.

“We know that if we vote and keep our democracy intact when it’s our turn, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Abrams urged the crowd not to give up because “our participation and our voices have never been more important.”

The rally came after Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would support Ms Harris in the US election on November 5, despite saying: “I don't like any party at the moment.”

The 77-year-old former Republican governor of California, who served from 2003 to 2011, said his party's nominee, former US President Donald Trump, would “divide,” “insult” and “find new ways to be more un-American.” be”. than he already was.”

Schwarzenegger said he would vote for Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz because he wanted the U.S. to “move forward as a country,” even though there were “a lot of disagreements with their platform.”

The Austrian-born actor said that Mr Trump, who is running for his second term as US president, “will not respect your vote unless it is for him.”

He concluded: “It will just be four more years of bullshit with no results, making us increasingly angry, divided and hateful.”

“We must close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know former President Trump will not do that.”

Friends star Jennifer Aniston also confirmed she voted for Ms Harris to “end this era of fear, chaos and attacks on our democracy”.

In an Instagram post, she said: “Today I voted not only for access to healthcare, for reproductive freedom, for equality, for safe schools and for a fair economy, but also for reason and human decency.”

“Please remember that your voice matters, whoever you are and wherever you live. Your voice counts.”