Barefoot Handstands And Tambourine Tosses: The Lumineers Played Bangor, Maine

If you're going to have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a crowd of thousands on a hot and humid summer night in Maine, a Lumineers concert isn't a terrible place to be.

With flowing skirts, cowboy boots, flower crowns, and barely-there shirts, the Maine Savings Amphitheater was packed with mostly women on Tuesday, and smelled faintly like a Bath & Body Works Store.

This week's sold-out show marked the second time the band has ventured to Bangor.

When the Denver-based Indie-Alt Rockers came to Bangor in August of 2023, they brought a stage setup and energy like I've never seen before.

The Maine Savings Amphitheater was the second stop on their "Brightside" tour that year, and they were just getting their feet under them as they hit the road.

The excitement was high, the tunes fantastic, but what set this band apart from others that would come through town that season, aside from the super long catwalk and second stage in the pit, was the interaction this band had with the audience.

Front man Wesley Schultz ventured down from the stage at one point, a risky move most musicians refuse to make in an era of projectiles being thrown at performers. But Schultz seemed to trust the audience, and they embraced him.

This time around, in 2025 the move was bigger....but we'll get to that in a minute.

Read More: 5 Places Bangor Could Have an Awesome Midsize Concert Venue

With this recent visit to Bangor, The Lumineers set the stage for one of the most interactive concert experiences one can have at the Maine Savings Amphitheater.

Just as they did when they were last here in 2023, the staging of The Lumineers set allowed for everyone to get an up-close-and-personal look at the band. They essentially had two stages set up: one on the main stage and one in the middle of the floor, where the musicians would spend a great deal of time.

The band is touring in support of their new album "Automatic," which is out now.

American indie-rock band Hippo Campus, hailing from Saint Paul, Minnesota, opened for the band, kicking off right at 7 PM, with selections from their new album "Flood" along with some of their older catalogue. They were high energy and soaked by the end of their set, due to the heat and humidity. But they had done their job and warmed up the crowd for the main attraction.

While the temperature within the MSA was definitely on the warmer side, The Lumineers brought a cool confidence to the masses with a set of old favorites and some great new offerings.

This time around, the band seemed a little more cohesive, a little wiser, and a little different. They brought with them a kind of energy that comes not from the excitement and newness of a tour, but the catharsis of playing for a crowd that's radiating love back in your direction, and a tightness of a group of musicians who have bonded on the road, and seem to enjoy each other's company.

They played with each other and off each other. And the audience ate it up.

The first song of the show was the first song off their new "Automatic" album, called "SOS."

The second song they played was the first song off their first album, "The Lumineers", called "Flowers In Your Hair" (which almost every female in attendance was sporting as an accessory, if you didn't know.)

Schultz commented that this year marked some major milestones for the band: the release of their 5th studio album and the 20th year he and Lumineers co-founder Jeremiah Fraites (who could be Woody Harrelson's long-lost brother) have played together. (They began playing together as a duo called 'Free Beer' in the early 2000s.) To say this pair has come a long way would be an understatement.

They sold out an amphitheater in a city where they barely get any airplay on the mainstream radio stations. How did they do that? Loyal and dedicated fans who, in a sort of grass-roots movement, have spread the word about this group to everyone they know.

Watching them perform, you can see the appeal.

Shultz and Fraites are a talented yet humble pair. Shultz has an understated way about his guitar playing, but a powerhouse set of vocals that scoop between high and low, soft and loud, with amazing dynamics.

Fraites, adorned each show in his signature black pants, white tee, black suspenders, and black hat, swaps effortlessly between the drum kit and the piano. He doesn't say much by way of words and lets his music do the talking for him.

Add to that a group of fantastic touring musicians with the musical chops and a fabulous sense of humor, as well as a genuine sense of delight and amusement at performing with one another. They make every song an exciting event; that's their recipe for success.

Lauren Jacobson is a killer fiddle player, with an edgy fashion sense, and is equally skilled on the keys. She brings a lot to the band, both in style and in sound.

Byron Isaacs adds such a punch to the songs with his bass playing and his emphatic backing vocals.

Former roadie turned band-member, Brandon Miller, switches out between guitar, percussion, mandolin, and singing without batting an eyelash. A jack-of-all-trades, he blends beautifully with the bunch.

Certainly, the man who stole the show, at least in my humble opinion, is their keyboard/accordion/percussionist/hype man, Stelth Ulvang. This guy, sporting his Dempsy foundation "Maine" polo, with a scarf and no shoes, brought to the show a hilarious unpredictability along with his incredible musical talent.

Several times throughout he show he climbed up onto his piano, played with his bare feet, and got the crowd hyped with his fist pumps and arm sways.

His handstand on the piano, as the band struck an artistic tableau during their song "Big Parade", after every band member had taken a turn singing a verse, seemed to last over a minute!

The entire song was an impressive example of musicians at their best, but that handstand was epic.

Also amazing was when he and Shultz swapped out their tambourines across the stage in a game of toss during fan-favorite "Ophelia."

Now, let's revisit what was a cool moment the first time the band was here. Schultz got down off the stage and spent a minute or two mingling with the crowd in the pit while he sang "Brightside." This year, he took that moment to another level. Not only did he hop down and join the crowd, followed by a cameraman, he ran the length of the floor of the Maine Savings Amphitheater, ran up to the upper sections of the facility and sang for a while there, and then ran back, making time to high-five and hug several hundred people along the way, much to the crowd's delight.

Not all of the concert was a fun free-for-all of alternative folk. There was a little mash-up of Leader of the Landslide and the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want," which was cool, especially since Wesley was sporting a soaking wet Stones T-shirt. A nice nod there.

And the other tribute paid at the show had a much deeper meaning for Schultz, as he sang it in honor of his little brother, Sam, who died unexpectedly of a medical event at the end of May this year and left behind a wife and two small kids.

Schultz did a soulful and heartfelt rendition of Justin Bieber's "Ghost of You", much to the surprise of the audience, stating that it was the song he had picked, surprisingly even to himself, to sing at Sam's funeral.

Closing out the show was a raucous rendition of "Stubborn Love" during which Ulvang, after playing the piano with his feet again, sprang down from the stage and climbed onto the edge of the 200s section, playing the guitar and somersaulting at the same time. It prompted Schultz to laugh while singing. They played just under 30 songs. There was no need for an encore. When they said their goodbyes to the crowd at 10:30, everyone was satisfied.

That's how this band kept thousands of people waving their cellphone flashlights, screaming their lyrics out loud, and thoroughly entertained for two full hours on a hot summer night in Maine.