Hailing from Denver, the trio known as The Lumineers rose to prominence when their infectious 2012 single “Ho Hey” established them as a leading force in the indie folk realm. In subsequent years their energetic performances and natural fusion of rock, folk, and Americana elements fueled broad commercial appeal. The multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated self-titled debut cleared the path for the chart-topping Cleopatra in 2016 and the buoyant Brightside in 2022, while Live at Wrigley Field and Live from Wrigley Field, their debut and sophomore live sets, both surfaced in 2024.
The group’s origins lie on the East Coast, where Wesley Schultz (vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion) first collaborated in assorted New York City ensembles beginning in 2005. By 2009 the pair had grown more focused and moved to the unexpected musical center of Denver, Colorado, where they encountered cellist and multi-instrumentalist Neyla Pekarek. Momentum from their self-titled 2011 EP secured a management agreement, prompting a relocation to Seattle to cut their first full-length with producer Ryan Hadlock. Ahead of its release the infectious “Ho Hey” gained traction on key radio outlets, and when Dualtone issued the Lumineers’ self-titled LP in April 2012 the band already carried substantial anticipation. Lifted by “Ho Hey” and the follow-up single “Stubborn Love”—later disclosed as a track on President Obama’s personal playlist—the album climbed to number two on the Billboard 200 and earned two Grammy nominations. Two years of relentless touring followed, elevating the group’s visibility further. Schultz and Fraites were enlisted to ghostwrite “The Hanging Tree,” the folk piece featured in the 2014 Jennifer Lawrence film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Pt. 1. By 2016 they had finished their sophomore effort, Cleopatra, which arrived that April and topped the charts in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. After their own global trek, U2 invited the Lumineers to support the North American portion of the Joshua Tree anniversary tour.
In summer 2018 the band delivered the three-track C-Sides EP via Decca and supplied the song “Visions of China” for the series The Walking Dead; the following April they unveiled “Gloria,” the lead single from their third studio album, the suitably titled III. Structured as three distinct chapters chronicling the weight of addiction, III reached listeners that September. An extended world tour in support concluded in March 2020. That October Schultz issued the acoustic-covers solo set Vignettes, after which the group resumed live dates in mid-2021 while continuing work on new material at Sun Mountain Studios in Boiceville, New York under producer Simone Felice, who had helmed both Cleopatra and III. Though Schultz and Fraites performed most instruments on 2022’s Brightside, contributions came from engineer David Baron, touring members Byron Isaacs and Lauren Jacobson, and vocalist Cindy Mizelle. The album landed at number six on the Billboard 200, prompting immediate return visits to stages across Europe and the U.K. The 2024 EP Leading Ladies gathered earlier tracks, each saluting a distinct historical or fictional woman drawn from the band’s catalog. Later that year the Lumineers released their first and second concert albums, Live from Wrigley Field and Live at Wrigley Field.
