The Lumineers.Dualtone Records
The beloved indie folk band The Lumineers have been a stronghold in the industry since the 2010s, with their sound making waves in the Irish scene in particular.
Ahead of the release of their fifth studio album "Automatic," Extra.ie caught up with multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jeremiah Fraites to discuss growing with their fanbase and their upcoming tour.
"I think that in Ireland, it’s probably got to be one of the biggest shows that we’ve ever put on sale. I mean, the show is selling like crazy," Fraites began.
"I don’t know why we’re so big in Ireland, but we love the fact that we are," he added. "It’s been amazing for us ever since we started coming to Ireland."
"It’s always been like a really great relationship. We have a big Irish friend, Niall Horan. He’s come on stage a couple times, and we’ve gone on his stage a couple times, and, yeah, but it’s been amazing every time we go to Ireland."
Discussing their gig in St. Anne’s Park this May, the band opened up about what fans can expect from their biggest gig to date.
"The album comes out next Friday, so all European and Irish fans, you guys will have enough time to get it in your blood by the time we get to the park."
"I don’t think we’ve ever really been a theatrical band. We’re never gonna bring out a massive VIP, you know? Bono isn’t gonna pop out of a cake and sing with us. I mean, if he hit us up and wanted to do that, we’d say yes, but I think that we try to just have the music speak for itself."
"I think that there’s probably a good chunk of that crowd that have never seen us before, or have seen us before, and are really excited to see and hear early material," he stressed.
"They’re definitely going to hear a lot of the new album, but I think people will see us really excited, because it’s the fresh start of a tour. It’s early days, fresh legs.
"So by the time we get to the States, the States will see us pretty ragged and run down. Europeans, you guys are getting us fresh and good."
Opening up about their ever-growing relationship with their fanbase, Fraites discussed how "Automatic" will serve as a love letter to the fans, even with their sound evolving throughout the years.
"With The Lumineers, it was a conscious decision to shift the sound, but I think it slowly just sort of made sense for us…it’s a natural progression. It’s not something where a producer or ourselves came in the room and were like; 'Alright, guys, we gotta flip the script.'
"I think as an artist, you have two options, stay the same or change, and I think if you stay the same, you’ll make a handful of people happy, but then you’d probably be bored. And I think if you change, you might make a lot of people happy. And I think some artists change so much just to selfishly make themselves happy. And I think that, you know, we find that balance, but it all comes back to just being sincere within ourselves at the end of the day."
"Automatic," the fifth studio album from The Lumineers, is out on February 14, with the band playing St. Anne’s Park in Dublin on May 31.
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.