For the 15,000 in attendance at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena, church services were held late Sunday evening. That’s when Mumford & Sons raised the roof with a 100-minute set that focused on the (now) trio’s inherently dramatic, simmer and ecstatic release songs that for many provided a sense of connection and some the type of musical communion they’ve been seeking since the group’s last appearance in the city in 2019. All that was missing were a few “hallelujahs!” and “Amens.”

The group helped bust the doors open for the Americana genre and continues to embrace and challenge audiences. That approach marked the song selection and between-song banter. Marcus Mumford cheekily razzed the crowd by mentioning the hometown Steelers loss to the Cincinnati Bengals a few days earlier and later as he requested the audience to be quiet during an acoustic performance of “Timshel” with the three around one microphone, he sarcastically remarked (and got a laugh) that it’s difficult to get Americans to “shut the fuck up.”

As Mumford mentioned when the members moved at the midway point to the smaller B-stage at the other end of the arena, “If you haven’t realized by now. We are going to spend a couple of hours fucking around. We’re going to play these songs. We are going to play deep cuts.” With that an acoustic “After the Storm,” which hadn’t been played since 2015, was followed by “Feel the Tide” and an acoustic “Guiding Light.”

The 21-song set mixed favorites such as “Little Lion Man,” “The Cave” and “Babel” with the title track of the band’s latest album, “Rushmere” with a host of older numbers —  “Run Together,” “Hopeless Wanderer,” “Lover of the Light” and “Believe” plus a cover of The Spinners’ “The Rubberband Man,” which comes out this Friday.

Following what has been the band’s regular set closer, “I Will Wait,” Mumford said, “We could end the show right here but we want to give a little bit more. We have recorded so many more songs in the last few years, if it is okay with you…even if it’s not,” and the evening concluded with the brand new, hypnotic track “A Conversation with My Son, Gangsters & Angels.”

Opening act, Stephen Sanchez showed that he is so much more than his viral hit, “Until I Found You.” An energetic presence he primed the crowd for the headliner with a 40-minute set, which included a cover of Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual,” while creating the type of performance that should lead to more fans walking through the door when he returns to the Steel City in February.

With a brief half hour set, The Barr Brothers showcased its mesmerizing, textural, simmer and release sounds. Andrew Barr returned to the stage as the drummer for Mumford & Sons.