Concert Review: The Lumineers Illuminate The Moody Center

Written by Claire Hookstra

As the doors to Austin’s Moody Center opened, the arena flooded with girls in long white skirts, flower crowns, overalls, and what appeared to be dragged-along boyfriends for the final US date of The Lumineers’ ‘Automatic World Tour.’ To start the night, Chance Peña took the stage, captivating the audience with his haunting vocals and emotional ballads. Asking fans to kindly put down their phones and “live in the moment,” the artist closed the set with “The Mountain Is You,” as fans still secretly held up their phones to record the song. 

At 8:45 p.m., the lights dimmed as an illuminated cassette player graphic soared onto the LED screen at the back of the stage, and The Lumineers slowly crept into view. The instantly recognizable drum beat of “Same Old Song” blasted through the speakers as a sea of applause and whoops filled the venue. The band made their way down the runway that ran into the middle of the arena floor, as fans cheered and smiled at the folk musicians. Moving into “Flowers In Your Hair,” a track off of the group’s first album, an eager fan threw a bouquet to Stelth Ulvang, the infectiously energetic keyboardist and accordionist. The bouquet would remain a part of the show, as Ulvang would carry it back and forth, up and down the runway, until the very last song. 

The sweet acoustic riff of “Angela” silenced the crowd, fully enamored by lead singer Wesley Schultz’s deep vocals. “Oh Angela / Spent your whole life running away / Home at last,” fans cried back to the band, smiling from ear to ear in bittersweet bliss. Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites (drummer and composer) took opposite sides of the small stage at the end of the runway for “You’re All I Got,” before returning to the rest of the band standing on the main stage for “A.M. Radio” and “Asshole.” 

Having followed the typical setlist of the tour so far, the audience settled in for what they assumed was next. However, within seconds of the end of “Asshole,” Schultz began to pluck the powerful riff of “Gale Song.” Die-hard fans of the band around me turned to their friends, struck with shock that the band had decided to play the unofficial fan favorite (me, I’m the one who acted in this way. I was a The Hunger Games tween, what can I say). Schultz brought out Chance Peña to sing the second verse of the song and brilliantly harmonize for the climactic end of the track. “There was a time when I stood in line for love / For love / For love,” the audience earnestly sang into the air of Moody Center, tears in their eyes (again, I was crying, it was me.) 

Continuing to work through hits and new songs alike, “Plasticine” and “Donna” were beautifully performed. The group’s claim-to-fame, “Ho Hey,” resulted in heavy audience participation, singing a full verse back at the smiling band. “Dead Sea” crept through the speakers, and couples around me embraced one another, singing the love song sweetly. “Sleep On The Floor,” a sonic and now visual masterpiece, was characterized by gallons of confetti shot into the air during the final heavy drum beat of the track. Fans eagerly reached their hands into the air, confetti covering their faces, as if in some church of folk. 

The Lumineers played a fair share of each album, showing no particular one more love than the others. “Big Parade” also served as band introductions, as each band member sang a verse of the track to celebrate the final US tour date. “Automatic,” the emotional title track of the band’s latest album, was spine-chilling, played solely by Fraites on a piano, highlighting Schultz's gripping vocals.  After “Leader Of The Landslide,” Schultz explained to the audience that he had lost his brother recently due to tragic events. To honor him, he had been singing a song dedicated to him at every show. Tonight, he chose to sing “A Song for You,” by Willie Nelson. Moved to tears by the raw emotion heard in Schultz’s voice, the crowd stood stoic for the entirety of the song. Those who hadn’t been paying too close attention before finally turned to the stage, few phones were in sight, and everyone erupted in thunderous applause at the end of the performance of the cover. 

Schultz moved back to the runway stage, singing the first few verses of “Cleopatra” a cappella. Still recovering from “A Song for You,” the audience only continued to stand and stare in awe until the rest of the band met Schultz at the stage and picked up their instruments for the rest of the song. The long-awaited finale turned into a scene of pure human-to-human joy, and fans new and old, young and aged, danced away to “Stubborn Love.” 

The Lumineers are truly unmatched. One of the founders of the 2010s-era “stomp and holler” genre, there is nothing that beats the joy found at one of their shows. Confetti, flowers, and some classic acrobatic tricks by Ulvang, the final night of the US leg of the ‘Automatic World Tour’ is something The Lumineers should be proud of.