Soulful Vibes | Quincy Mumford and The Reason Why

Quincy Mumford is a bit of an enigma. At 21, the soulful crooning front man of Quincy Mumford and The Reason Why has a sound beyond his years. Hinged on a hodgepodge of influences, including G Love, John Mayer and John Legend, it taps different emptions and musical stylings, from rock and soul to a funk rhythm that brandishes a tinge of R&B and jazz. 

   “It’s kind of hard to pin down one sound, because it’s so many different kind of genres morphed into one,” Mumford muses on the sound of his band, which includes Karlee Bloomfield on the keys, bassist Brian Gearty, guitarist Mike Zdeb and David Vossel on drums. “We try to make our listeners walk away feeling lifted and liberated.”

   Although a band of young bloods, Mumford et al. are already seasoned veterans, having released July 30 their fifth album, It’s Only Change, a studio job with producer Ken Coomer (Wilco) in Nashville. This latest work points to the evolution of Mumford and the band since coming together five years ago—“growth in the right direction,” as Mumford puts it.

   Living in New Jersey just a mile from shore, the group penned much of the album in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy. At the time, “there wasn’t too much to do,” Mumford says. “When Sandy happened, we were out of power for two weeks, so I played guitar a lot. Some of the songs came out then.”

   Currently on tour traveling the east coast and the Florida loop, Quincy Mumford and The Reason Why will be coming to Naples’ South Street Bar and Grill on Sunday, August 25. We caught up with Mumford to discuss his latest album and life on the road.

What’s your take on It’s Only Change?

This album turned out to be more than I expected it to be. It’s the first album I created that feels like a complete piece of work, not just a bunch of songs placed in a certain order on a disc. Every song relates back to each other and has the same constant theme. It feels kind of like a story to me. I think that’s exciting. It’s something new for me, something I haven’t done before.

Does any particular song stand out to you?

I like the song “Eventually.” It’s a slower tune but powerful and a lot of fun to play; it’s really soulful.

How’s life on the road?

We get along really well on tour. There’s a good vibe with us; I love being on the road with [the band]. We actually just installed a Nintendo 64 in the van, so we are all pretty happy about that.

In five words or fewer, describe your sound?

Feel-good music. The vibe we put off when we play live has people walking away feeling good.