Live Review: The Lumineers - The O2, London 24/05/2025
The Lumineers light up the O2 with their soulful folk.
Opening for The Lumineers to a packed O2 arena, support act Michael Marcagi put in a polished folksy performance. With minimal stage set up he charmed the crowd with his heartfelt lyrics, as in the song ‘Scared to Start’ saying ‘Are you scared to find it?
And do you want to take my broken heart?’ A cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s hit ‘Deja Vu’ was well received as was the appearance of Lumineer’s singer Wesley for the duet ‘I Wish I’d Never Met You’, with Michael returning the favour later in the headline set joining the band for ‘Charlie Boy’.
The Lumineers are on tour supporting their fifth and most recent album, ‘Automatic’ which was released on February 14, 2025. Representing a new sound for them, the band have said of their new material “people who think they have our number, they’ll be surprised”, with a new raw and intimate sound that is more stripped back and a move away from the familiar singalong choruses. Set opener ‘Same Old Song’ shows this direction with Wesley’s distinctive vocals shining out against a simple drum arrangement.
This is their first London performance since their intimate War Child show held at the Hoxton Hall in January. The band hail from Denver, Colorado, and are made up of Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites. The show however is not just about Wes and Jeremiah who have a very accomplished band including a violinist and a barefoot keyboardist who had the most energy of everyone on stage, even doing a hand stand at one point! Instead of the usual introductions each band member took a turn singing a verse in ‘Big Parade’.
There is also a raw power of having just the two band mates on the stage, as in ‘You’re All I’ve Got’ from the new album. The song both refers to their relationship with partners and families but also as bandmates. As Wesley excitedly tells the crowd, this show marks 20 years for them together as a band, and is the biggest show in the UK so far.
A highlight of ‘Automatic’ is the wry song ‘Asshole’ with Wes saying that when his wife first met him “She was pretty certain I was an asshole, but we should be wary of those who present as too perfect, they often have the most demons”, then raising a toast to all the assholes in the room. Schultz previously admitted “I can be a bit reserved or aloof when I meet people. I thought calling myself an asshole was a unique confession to put in a song. I sung it to myself and it made me laugh out loud. Maybe our other albums took themselves more seriously”.
Tenth into the 29 song set came the anthemic ‘Ho Hey’. The band previously explained how this song came to be “We were moving away from bar band covers to doing our own songs. So shouting “Ho hey!” from the stage got people’s attention. We were doing it to be heard. Then suddenly everyone started listening”. A real singalong favourite, the main hook is pure defiance, you might have broken up with me but “I belong with you, you belong with me”.
Referring back to those days Wes tells the crowd that “Back in the days in New York City we used to be a covers band so in that spirit..” as the band launched into a very well received cover of Oasis ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’. Their slowed down version with violin accompaniment brought a new heartfelt sound to the iconic song. On ‘Brightside’, the title song from their previous album, Wes energetically climbed over the barrier and sung whilst strolling through the crowd, hi-fiving and fist bumping as he went. He then climbed up into the seated area, all whilst keeping up the flawless vocals.
Lumineers classic ‘Ophelia’ was a set highlight with its beautiful lyrics and Jeremiah playing on a white grand piano that had slickly appeared from the centre of the stage walkway. Its lyrics: You've been on my mind girl like a drug, Oh, Ophelia, Heaven help a fool who falls in love’ contrast with the upbeat bouncy hook, with Wesley’s heartfelt vocals. This was a typical hallmark of the band’s singalong vibes with touching and raw lyrics all performed with slick showmanship and talent.
Words by Brendan Sharp
