Stephanie Sokol for The Oakland Press
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — With friendly conversation and folksy music, The Lumineers brought a fun, upbeat show to the DTE Energy Music Theatre on Thursday, June 6.
The group’s 14-song, hour-and-20-minute show focused on tracks from their hit 2012 self-titled debut album, plus a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” as well as a few unreleased songs. The live performances added more feeling and rawness to the music, intricately weaving together vocal harmonies with instrumentation that included traditional piano and guitar as well as cello and tambourine.
The lively “Submarines” quickly engaged the DTE crowd as light from sparkling chandeliers overhead framed the well-dressed group. When they performed the break-out track “Ho Hey,” lead singer Wesley Keith Schultz asked the audience to put away their cell phones to live in the moment, and he got his wish — the audience responded by cheering and singing along.
For a group that was nominated for a Grammy Award, the Lumineers proved to be down-to-earth. At one point the band members froze and stopped playing, good-naturedly milking cheers from the crowd before heading back into the song. The group also walked into the crowd and up to the lawn for a pair of songs, pointing out that just a year ago they were actually performing in back yards and living rooms.
High-fiving their way back to the stage, the Lumineers lit into their other hit single, “Stubborn Love.”
Schultz performed a solo acoustic version of “Morning Song,” then introduced the next song, the bittersweet “Gonzo,” with a story about finding a gun in his late father’s sock drawer.
After “Big Parade” ended the show, the band lingered onstage for a few minutes, throwing drumsticks and other random souvenirs to the crowd.
The Lumineers made a good impression.
Stephanie Dennis 
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