“…raw and reflective music, which not only calls to mind folk contemporaries such as The Avett Brothers and Blitzen Trapper, but also accounts for its members' experiences with personal tragedy.”
-NPR’s World Café
“If the EP and the band’s inspiring live shows are any indication, the debut full length should be one to keep on your radar.”
-Paste (25 albums We’re Looking Forward to in 2012)
"The Lumineers are a band on the rise. Fans of groups like Mumford & Sons, The Head and The Heart, and Truth & Salvage Co (or anyone who appreciates an interactive, foot stomping show) should especially take note.”
-High Voltage
“The Lumineers are going to blow up.”
-Work Magazine
“Wesley Schultz, 9, who wants to be an artist, said, ‘I spend a lot of time on my drawings and it turns out good ‘cause I’ve been practicing a lot.’”
-The New York Times, 3/15/92
Twenty years ago, Wesley Schultz saw the future.
Back then, growing up in the New York City suburb of Ramsey, New Jersey, Wesley spent his days drawing side by side with his best friend, Josh Fraites. Today, as bandleader of The Lumineers, Wesley’s replaced his pencil with a guitar, his drawings with songs, and plays side by side with Joshua’s younger brother Jer- emiah. He still practices a lot, and it still turns out good.
But The Lumineers’ story didn’t come so easily.
It begins in 2002, the year Jeremiah’s brother, Josh, died from a drug overdose at 19. Amidst the loss and grief, Wes and Jer found solace in music, writing songs and playing gigs around New York. After bat- tling the city’s cutthroat music scene and impossibly high cost of living, the two decided to expand their horizons. They packed everything they owned—nothing more than a couple suitcases of clothes and a trailer full of musical instruments—and headed for Denver, Colorado. It was less a pilgrimage than act of stubborn hopefulness.
The first thing they did in Denver was place a Craigslist ad for a cellist, and the first person to respond was Neyla Pekarek, a classically trained Denver native. As a trio, they began playing at the Meadowlark, a gritty basement club where the city’s most talented songwriters gathered every Tuesday for an open mic and dollar PBRs. Neyla softened Wes and Jer’s rough edges while expanding her skills to mandolin and piano. And so The Lumineers sound took shape; an amalgam of heart-swelling stomp-and-clap acoustic rock, classic pop, and front-porch folk.
In 2011, an eponymous, self-recorded EP led to a self-booked tour, and before long The Lumineers started attracting devout fans, first across the Western US, then back in their old East Coast stoming grounds. Young, old and in-between, they’re drawn by songs like “Ho Hey” and “Stubborn Love,” Americana-inflected barnburners in the vein of the Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons. They’re drawn by songs like “Slow it Down” and “Dead Sea,” slow, sultry ballads that suggest the raw revelations of Jeff Buckley and Ryan Adams. They’re drawn by the live Lumineers experience—a coming-together in musical solidarity against isolation, adversity, and despair.
The roots revival of the last few yeas has primed listeners for a new generation of rustic, heart-on-the- sleeve music—the kind that nods to tradition while setting off into uncharted territory. The Lumineers walk that line with an unerring gift for timeless melodies and soul-stirring lyrics. It will all be on display soon, on the band’s first full-length album, due in April.
Born out of sorrow, powered by passion, ripened by hard work, The Lumineers have found their sound when the world needs it most.
Self Titled Album Available April 3rd.
