The Lumineers wrapped up their second consecutive sold out show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre last Wednesday, June 8th. Their meteoric rise over the last four years has been nothing short of amazing. When cellist Neyla Pekarek answered a Craigslist ad placed by Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, history was made. The Lumineers are distilled Americana; they are nostalgia wrapped in enthusiasm. They are both familiar and fresh. Their music is a revival and Red Rocks is their church. When these hometown heroes headline Red Rocks, they bring the electricity.
Denver is a unique musical landscape. Any band traveling East or West is seemingly unable to break free from the city’s immense gravitational pull. However, when it comes to bands who call the Front Range home, you’re more likely to find groups that fall into the jam category rather than pop. Over the years, the state has had its fair share of breakout acts, including The String Cheese Incident and more recently Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. The Lumineers are another, as the group just landed the number one spot on the Billboard 200 with their sophomore album Cleopatra.
The Sleepwalkers started the night, powering their set with a refined Indie sound. Afterwards, SOAK – the stage name of a young woman from Northern Ireland named Birdie Monds-Watson with an angelic voice – performed next. Her fantastical subject matter had a whimsical tone, singing about “Dragons & Dinosaurs.” The SOAK trio played for about an hour, with her single “Sea Creatures” as an obvious highlight.
After the sun set and a light mist filled the air, The Lumineers took the stage. They opened with the impressive travel song “Sleep On The Floor,” inviting us all to go on a journey. The band kept the crowd entranced with one of the hits off the new album, “Ophelia.” The Lumineers utilize riff heavy musicianship to create an approachable sound. They are catchy and unafraid to include an interjection or two so that fans can follow along.
The fervor of the audience was utterly contagious, as The Lumineers have been blessed with a multitude of die-hard fans. As they continue to write more music and tour, that audience will only continue to grow. Before “Ho Hey,” Schultz asked if after this song everyone would put away their cell phones. Surprisingly, they obliged.
The band continued by treating fans to the title track off Cleopatra, before The Lumineers went into the heartbreaking “Dead Sea.” After “Charlie Boy,” the entire band moved into the middle of the audience behind the soundboard. The spotlights blasted the band as they went through a pair of covers that included Sawmill Joe’s “Ain’t Nobody’s Problem” as well as Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” During the Dylan cover, Schultz actually ran through the crowd singing about ‘Orders from the D.A.’ as he eventually made his way back to the stage. Then he sang “Slow It Down” as an acoustic solo while the rest of the band headed back down.
More fan favorites dotted the rest of the set, including “Submarines,” “Angela” and a powerful “Big Parade” that contained a not-so-subtle warning about voting for Trump. They finished up a fantastic set with “My Eyes” into the instrumental “Patience.”
The Lumineers returned almost instantly for a four song encore that featured Wesley again taking the mic for a solo number with “Long Way From Home.” After the bouncy “In The Light” they ended the night with “Stubborn Love.” They’ve come a long way, but The Lumineers have managed to maintain the intimacy and authenticity that made them popular in the first place. If you get the chance to see them, go. Your soul will feel better afterwards.
Check out the setlist from night one, as well as a full gallery from the Wednesday night performance from Fat Guerilla Productions, below.
