Guitarist Wesley Schultz discusses 10 years of musical success just before the band’s South Florida show.

May 17th, 2022

The Lumineers got a meteoric rise to fame with their hit song Ho Hey and have not stopped since. 10 years after their Grammy-nominated debut album The Lumineers, the band released another chart-topping album Brightside on January 14th of this year. The band is set to perform songs from this album and others alike on May 20th at iThink Amphitheater in West Palm Beach.

Brightside, which Schultz calls his “favorite record we’ve made,” features tracks that range from high-energy drumbeats to emotional, lyrically driven guitar tunes. Released in the year of the band’s 10-year anniversary, the record represents a shift from the meticulous planning that went into their previous records.

“It was drastically different from anything else we’ve done on previous records,” Schultz said of the record. “Because I think we were like doomsday preppers when it came to making records, where we would over-prepare and sort of over record it. And then by the time [we] went in to actually make the record, we had played it 100-plus times. And it was a little bit tired in that way. You had to almost muster up that enthusiasm that you get in the very beginning.”

For this record, the band started with only a voice memo recording of the song, unsure of the details of which instruments would back it up. Schultz attributes this difference in working style to the high energy of the performances seen in the Brightside tour.

“We didn’t know how fast the song was really, we didn’t know what key it would be,” Schultz said. “And so all those decisions were made off the cuff last minute in the studio, and then the performances I think are just way way better, because we were getting the earliest versions of it. And so you hear that danger, sort of uncertainty in how we’re playing everything, and that gives it a loose feel. And I think I just really love it.”

Schultz describes the album as having “immediacy” that was lacking from their other records. He likens the feel of the music to that of the Talking Heads, which according to him, you can play at any party and get people jamming. He hopes this record will be an entry point for new fans to get into their music.

“I think any artist when they’re starting, when they’re making the record, they just hope that it reaches as many people as possible,” Schultz said. “I think when you realize it’s on the radio, when you realize it’s getting playlisted in different ways, it’s really gratifying because it just means that it’s getting exposure. It’s almost like I think about that as like a spotlight getting shone on it. That and that’s all you can really ask for.”

The album has been met with mass success. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s “Top Alternative Albums” and “Top Rock Albums” lists and earned a top 10 spot on the overall Billboard Top 200.

In the wake of the success of this album, Schultz reflects on how the band has changed, both in their sound and as people, since their earlier albums.

“I think we’ve managed to make records, in my opinion, that have changed, and if you were to listen from album one to this album, it can sound really, really different from each other,” Schultz said. “But it’s more like time-lapse, slow change. That’s a little more subtle, and it’s probably in line with our personalities as far as what you’re naturally interested in can shift and morph, and that’s hopefully the place we’re coming from when we make records.”

In honor of the 10th anniversary of their debut album, the band is releasing a deluxe version of it on vinyl. As The Lumineers continue their world tour, they celebrate the longevity of their music and maintain the same passion for playing as they did 10 years ago.

“I think just try[ing] to make records that can transcend time and generations has always been a dream,” Schultz said. “I feel like seeing 10 years pass and playing the songs out live, still I can feel a lot of emotion around a lot of the songs on that record. So that’s where I think it just means that you feel like something stood the test of time that you were part of and that that’s powerful.”