After five years of touring around the world, The Lumineers perform at Wells Fargo Arena<\/h6>\n

Words and Photos by Zoe Ekonomou<\/em><\/p>\n

The Lumineers pride themselves on sticking to their intimate roots. Their careers began at open mic nights and in friends\u2019 living rooms with crowds of less than twenty. <\/span><\/p>\n

The last time The Lumineers played a concert in Iowa was in April 2012. They played at the Maintenance Shop in Ames, a venue with a capacity less than 200. Their first album was self-titled and had been released just a week before. <\/span><\/p>\n

A YouTube video<\/a> of that concert shows an intimate crowd of maybe 100 people and a tiny stage lifted two feet off the ground. Jeremiah Fraites, sticking out in his white T-shirt and black suspenders, split the crowd down the middle. \u201cThis side over here will be \u2018Ho,\u2019 this side is going to be \u2018Hey,\u2019 alright? Let\u2019s start with \u2018Ho.\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Wesley Schultz, lead vocalist, began playing his guitar and Fraites jumped back on stage to start the song. It was just beginning. Just two months later, \u201cHo Hey\u201d would be their first single on Billboard\u2019s Hot 100 chart and blasting on almost every radio station in the country. <\/span><\/p>\n

Friday, March 24th The Lumineers played at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, a venue that holds roughly 16,000. Other than the size of both the venue and the crowd, not much has changed five years later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their stage presence parallels their performances in the past. Fraites was again on stage in his white T-shirt and black suspenders. Halfway through the concert, a small stage lifted from the center of the venue\u2019s floor. The whole band went into the middle of the crowd to play three or four songs. Later, Schultz came off the stage to walk through the aisles and high-five fans as he sang.<\/span><\/p>\n

After their last song, Schultz saluted the crowd and promised it wouldn\u2019t be another five years before they came back.\u00a0He then turned to the whole band, and they came together and embraced.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t