American folkers The Lumineers hit Australia for Bluesfest ahead of U2 stadium gigs
THEIR breakthrough hit took The Lumineers around the world twice. They are back for Bluesfest and gigs in Melbourbne, Perth and Sydney.
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THE Lumineers had been writing and performing for a decade before the single Ho Hey made them inescapable in 2012.
Co-founders Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites moved from their native New Jersey to Denver, Colorado in 2009 and invited multi-instrumentalist Neyla Pekarek to join the band in 2010.
Their self-titled debut album arrived just as folk-rock was enjoying a revival on the pop charts and festival stages.
As Mumford and Sons plugged in, The Lumineers slotted in to keep those who love a good old folk-rock jig on their toes.
The band circumnavigated the globe a couple of times as their success grew out of America, and released their second album Cleopatra a year ago, peaking at the top of the US and UK charts and No. 2 in Australia.
Midway through their recent American tour, Fraites was chilling out after hitting the beach with his wife and their dog Spaghetti, and contemplating the luck and timing of playing sold-out gigs at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden and the fabled Sydney Opera House within two months.
“Me and Wes are from New Jersey, so two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden ... it’s still difficult to process,” he says.
“And two nights at the Sydney Opera House is pretty abnormal for a band from America. You realise how cool it is but you don’t want to psych yourself out.”
The band stepped up to arenas on the Americana leg of their tour earlier this year but The Lumineers will enjoy truly big gigs when they open for stadium superstars U2 throughout The Joshua Tree tour in May and June and then with Tom Petty for concerts in August.
Fraites says it was an emphatic ‘yes’ from the band when asked by the reps of both acts to join the tours.
“There’s very few bands it would make sense for us to open up for, and we admire them both because they are timeless,” he says.
“We’re having our cake and eating it too this year doing our own headlining tour and then opening up for two of the biggest bands in the world.
He admits he hopes to enjoy some close encounters with U2 frontman Bono while on the road with the Irish rock legends.
As any band who has opened for supergroups will attest, you tend to meet them once or become tour buddies at the least. Dozens of bands from all over the world have forged touring and creative partnerships out of a backstage encounter at a festival or tour.
Fraites tries to play down his fanboy but one senses he would be crushed if there wasn’t a chance to hang with the rock gods.
“I imagine that either we will see them more than we think or never see them at all,” Fraites says, laughing. “Neither would surprise me.
“But they are human beings so I think it will be cool. I’ll take whatever space they allow us.”
The Lumineers perform at Bluesfest, Byron Bay, April 14, Sydney Opera House, April 17 and 18, State Theatre, Melbourne, April 19 and Metro City, Perth, April 22
Originally published as American folkers The Lumineers hit Australia for Bluesfest ahead of U2 stadium gigs
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