The Lumineers
Background information
Origin	Ramsey, New Jersey, Denver, Colorado
Genres	Alternative rock, folk rock, Americana
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Dualtone Records
Members	Wesley Schultz Jeremiah Fraites Neyla Pekarek
Website	http://thelumineers.com/

The Lumineers are an American folk rock band based in Denver, Colorado. The core band consists of Wesley Schultz on guitar and lead vocals, Jeremiah Fraites on drums, percussion, mandolin and vocals, and Neyla Pekarek on cello, mandolin, piano, and vocals, with added musicians for tours.^[1][2] Their self-titled debut album was released on Dualtone Records on April 3, 2012, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Schultz and Fraites started writing songs together in the Fall of 2005. Originally based in Ramsey, New Jersey, they later relocated to Denver, where they met Pekarek after posting a Craigslist ad for a cellist.^[3] In the Spring of 2011, they signed a management deal with Onto Entertainment managers Christen Greene and David Meinert. Instead of the traditional route of signing a record deal and then recording an album, Onto fronted the band money to record the album they really wanted to make without the interference of label A&R, also allowing the band to own their masters. They recorded the album in Seattle at Bear Creek Studio with producer Ryan Hadlock (mixed in LA by Kevin Augunas at Fairfax Studio). They passed up major label offers to sign a unique, very artist-friendly deal with independent label Dualtone Records.^[4] The album was then licensed under similar terms to Dine Alone Records in Canada, Inertia in Australia, and Decca Records for the rest of the world.

In 2011 The Lumineers were getting some buzz in Denver, playing open mics at the 100 capacity Meadowlark.^[5] In December 2011, what would become the band's first single, 'Ho Hey', was used in the season finale of CW's Hart of Dixie. This started a national buzz on social media.^[4] In January John Richards, the morning show DJ at KEXP-FM in Seattle played 'Ho Hey' twice in a row daily for a week and called it the best song of 2012.^[6] WXPN Philadelphia/ NPR then did a feature on the band on their "World Cafe: Next" program. The band signed to Dualtone Records that same month. The Lumineers' popularity continued to build in 2012 with sold-out shows and favorable reviews for their self-titled debut album.^[7] The Lumineers was released on April 3, 2012 on Dualtone Records and went on to peak at number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[8] As of October 3, 2012, the album was No.15 on Billboard's Overall Current Chart, No.3 Folk, No.3 on the Indie Chart (where it peaked at No.1 the prior week) and No.7 on the alternative album chart. Of the album's success, Schultz told American Songwriter that "It's really arbitrary to any of us, especially to Jer and Neyla and I... because we've never really had an album out in this way... I'm really thrilled, but I also take it with a grain of salt... I think basically, I feel really lucky because I know how fickle the business, the industry is."^[1]

On June 14, 2012, the album's first single "Ho Hey" debuted at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, their first song to do so. In its second week on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it jumped from number 90 to number 73. "Ho Hey" later peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it their first Top 40 single, and as of Oct 10, had sold 935,694 copies. By June 23, "Ho Hey" hit No.1 at commercial Triple A radio, where it has spent 8 weeks, and on September 17 the song hit #1 on the Alternative Radio chart where it stayed for two weeks. In the past 13 years since Offspring topped the Alternative chart, only 4 other Indie bands have gone #1 at Alternative radio - Silversun Pickups, Phoenix, Mumford & Sons and now The Lumineers. This week is the first time in Alternative Chart history the #1 and #2 albums have both been from an indie label - The Lumineers at #1 and Mumford and Sons at #2.

In October, 2012, Spotify named "Ho Hey" as the most shared song in Manhattan, and 3rd most shared in Brooklyn.^[9]

The group toured in July/August 2012 with Old Crow Medicine Show (supporting their new album Carry Me Back), The Milk Carton Kids, and Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three. The tour visits such cities as: Louisville, Cincinnati, Nashville, Richmond, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Atlanta.^[10]

The Lumineers have announced a tour this December opening for The Dave Matthews Band visiting Raleigh, NC, Charlottesville, VA, Baltimore, MD, Manchester, NH, Brooklyn, NY, Philadelphia, PA.

Fraites emphasizes the simplicity of the group's style.

"We’re not reinventing the wheel or doing anything that different, the songs are super simple. The ideas themselves are very simple ideas. Anyone who can play an instrument can play a Lumineers song I think there’s a certain cinematic aspect of our music that I really like."^[11]

• Wesley Keith Schultz - vocals, guitars, keyboards, mandolin, drums, percussion, hand claps
• Jeremiah Caleb Fraites - fiddle, vocals, drums, percussion, guitar, mandolin, hand claps
• Neyla Pekarek - cello, vocals, keyboards, drums, percussion, guitar, mandolin, hand claps

• Stelth Ulvang – piano, accordion, mandolin, backing vocals
• Ben Wahamaki - bass guitar