Gallery by Matthew Guzman
The last time The Lumineers performed in the Houston metropolitan area was in 2017. The alternative folk band visited three major cities in Texas, with Austin, Fort Worth and Houston during their Automatic Tour.
The namesake tour embodies the messaging of their “Automatic” album: anything can happen nowadays, but it’s how we transform the pain into something great that makes the difference.
Local artist Chance Peña opened the night to a pitiful crowd at first. He started a full hour before The Lumineers, but the venue remained empty. However, the charm of Chance Peña and his band began to slowly draw the crowd in as more people began to stand and fill the venue.
Suddenly, light filled Houston as Peña introduced his next song, “Peacemaker.”
“Be a peacemaker, put others before yourself,” he said, and at that moment, he truly won over the audience.
The shift was magical. This song and moment set the tone for the rest of the night.
After a 30-minute wait, “Sirius” by the Alan Parsons Project played as The Lumineers’ logo appeared overhead.
The Lumineers came in ready to give the crowd an experience of a lifetime.
The Lumineers started their set with songs from the “Automatic” album, headlining “Same Old Song,” “You’re All I Got” and “Asshole.” The energy had clearly begun, but the momentum only took off later once The Lumineers pulled out one of their biggest hits, “Ho Hey.”
After this, the energy just kept moving. It was during their song “Brightside” when Wesley Schultz ran into the audience to ensure that the crowd was truly in sync with the band that October night on an emotional and physical level.
The power of the music only shone more when a confetti blast put the entire audience in awe during the song “Dead Sea.” This struck chills to the bone.
Then, to truly showcase the performers on stage that night, the band performed “Big Parade” with Wesley Schultz taking the lead. To make the performance special, each band member sang a piece of the chorus.
Schultz covered “Ghost,” dedicating the song to his brother.
As the night wound down, Schultz shared the emotional news of his 39-year-old brother passing following a heart attack.
“Hardest three months of my life,” Schultz said.
Schultz added, “I feel really lucky to miss somebody. I don’t regret a day of it. This is for Sammy.”
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion lit up from the glow of phone lights, as well as the energy emitted from the audience as they sang and swayed together.
To close off the show, The Lumineers performed “Stubborn Love.”
While the peak of a show is usually considered to be somewhere in the middle, that was not the case here. The entire concert was truly leading up to that last song.
While most wouldn’t consider a Lumineers concert one to be filled with energy and power, that couldn’t have made itself more apparent than that night at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.
The Lumineers delivered a concert the audience won’t forget anytime soon. The show was a reminder to appreciate what we are given in this confusing world, where anything can happen.
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