Congrats to Nick Petropoulos and everyone at Glassnote for the brilliant launch of Mumford & Sons new single “Believe.” In just 24 hours the record is virtually closed out at radio and looks to be on its way for a massive chart opening.

The band recently announced that they will be hosting four major festivals in far-flung U.S. locales: Walla Walla, WA, Waverly, IA, Salida, CO and Seaside Heights, NJ. It’s original, just as when Paul Tollett started Coachella or Perry Farrell introduced us to Lollapalooza.

I like the fact that Mumford is playing with Foo Fighters in Walla Walla. Do you know where that is? I only know about Walla Walla because of a strong Division 3 school there (Whitman College) and they’re talking with my son about playing for them. If there’s one thing my kids don’t have that I had growing up, it was being able to go to the local record store.

On my first trip to New York City at age 19—though it seems odd that it took me so long, considering I lived in Rochester—I made a beeline to the Tower Records in Greenwich Village. Still, I was lucky enough to have a bunch of great local record stores in Rochester too. My definition of music discovery was obviously totally different. I’d venture to guess kids will now say the Internet is much better for finding music, but I don’t know. I do know every time I go to the mall with my girls, we stop at the Apple Store, the one place at the mall where it’s always crowded. I never do anything there other than look at products I already own. If there was a record store in that location, well, it would be a different conversation.

I suppose I am finding my inner Andy Rooney here. My kids wonder how I lived with out a cell phone for my first 25 years of life. I just giggle, which brings me back to seeing Mumford & Sons in Walla Walla. Bringing live music to these remote places is a huge deal for music fans there, especially kids. In big cities you can see a huge band any night of the week, but when a major act hits a small town people remember it forever.

There’s a show in Waverly Iowa. Any idea where that is? I didn’t either, but it turns out it’s 140 miles from Des Moines. The show in Salida, Colorado, is about 150 miles south of Denver. I also love that there’s a Seaside Heights show on the Jersey Shore. My brother lives in that area and for a few years recently we have vacationed there. I think it’s amazing the band is going there and helping out the local economy, which has been brutally hit by Hurricane Sandy. Read more about Seaside Heights here.

With record stores becoming ever more scarce, you’ve got to give it to Mumford & Sons for giving music fans special moments we can always remember. I know that’s what I’m always trying to help my kids find.