The Lumineers ignite renewed love & light for St. Louis fans

One of the beautiful things about music is how easily it attaches to memory. Ask anyone and they will tell you a song that takes them back to somewhere else, some other time. It’s a lovely aspect of music although, sometimes, this can be quite painful. I have a lot of songs like that… songs that bring up memories I cannot bear to be reminded of. Since becoming a music journalist, that’s actually a major challenge I knew I would have to overcome if I wanted to continue doing something that I love. Every concert I attend is like exposure therapy in a way and standing in the pit among the others is the waiting room. We’re all waiting for our therapy sessions to start — each of us there for different reasons and coping in different ways.

The singers, the guitarists, drummers… they’re our therapists.

And once the concert (session) has ended, we leave feeling better than when we arrived because we have been healed by the sound. I promise I have a reason for why I am saying all of this; it’s because last night was one of those nights I was healed. 

It was a Wednesday night and it was another suffocatingly hot evening at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. In the car ride over, I could see just how packed the parking lot was with people, but I wasn’t surprised in the slightest, what, with The Lumineers being the headliner. I had been listening to their songs earlier in the day, trying to prepare myself for the show by listening to all my old favorites… songs I had once put to rest almost exactly this time a year ago. It felt so nice to flood my ears with the familiarity of their music, but the songs that once used to make me smile when I heard them (the songs that made my heart swell with warmth) now swelled with ache. I wondered if I was going to be able to see them live… could I handle it? 

I’d done it once before actually back in February when I saw Hippo Campus for the first time; I handled it. I was able to see them perform, heard all the songs I gave up listening to and was able to replace old, unpleasant memories with new, really lovely memories from the night. Little did I know then that I was going to see Hippo Campus a second time this year, now opening for The Lumineers this hot summer evening. It was true a double whammy: two bands I have adored for years that I had to set aside because of tainted, awful memories from my past. It made me think, ‘Why should I have to give away the music and bands that gave me so much joy…? Why must I be the haunted one?’ This ‘musical exposure therapy’ seemed to already be showing some interesting results. 

When it was time for Hippo Campus to come out, I was still pondering that very thought. While seated, I turned around to look at the crowd behind me. While the yard way out back was filled to the brim with people, the seating under the pavilion was patchy and lacking. I knew that this was due to most of these people choosing to skip the opener and come later for the headliner, which, while understandable, made me sad to see. Hippo Campus began playing as I sat there wishing so badly to stand up and sing with them, but I was still grappling with my own personal turmoil of recognizing that this entire concert was like one gigantic musical trigger for my psyche. That’s when I looked around again to see the crowd quiet — everyone who had a seat was sitting and those in the pit weren’t making a sound. I shook my head, I couldn’t believe it — this was Hippo Campus, for god’s sake! Where is the energy? So, I pushed my anxiety and traumas aside, gulped my watered-down screwdriver for some liquid courage, stood up, and started dancing.

Call me biased, but Hippo Campus was incredible.

The sun, while setting, was still emitting a blistering, bright heat and yet, the band performed through it all with energetic vigor. Their setlist was well-crafted, a perfect combination of old favorites and newer releases. Last spring, the band released the single “Everything At Once” from their now fully released newest album, Flood. As indie artists, I find that Hippo Campus offers a unique variety in their music, both vocally and instrumentally. Lead vocalist and guitarist Jake Luppen has such a special range, making each song differ from the other while bringing an interesting mixture of pitch and performance flair.

I ended up dancing and singing to their entire set that night. I was definitely getting weird looks from everyone sitting down near me each time I screamed my heart out, but I didn’t mind. I got to enjoy the uppity beat of “baseball” while I swung my hips and yelled until my throat was sore from cheering. When they played my favorite, “Buttercup”, the first song I had ever heard by Hippo Campus, I didn’t mind anything or anyone else because, in that moment, the music was reclaiming me. Near the end, more people had arrived and, eventually, I wasn’t the only one jamming out; by the looks of it, Hippo Campus made a lot more fans that night. 

The sky was near to dark as The Lumineers were seconds away from performing.

There was not a single seat without someone filling it and the size of the audience became the most apparent when the show finally began. I don’t think I have ever heard that many people cheer in unison; it was so massive and significant in sound that it was almost like a thousand whispers all at once. On either side of the stage were large screens projecting video capturing the band and I can still remember the distinctiveness of lead singer Wesley Schultz‘s hair parted into two long braids scaling down either side of his shoulders. 

What I love about The Lumineers is the simplicity they bring back to music. Over a decade ago was when I first heard “Flapper Girl” and it gave such an old-fashioned feel that listening to it transported me to a different decade. That’s what their music does for me — it’s a time capsule. When you’re feeling lost in life, put on “Sleep On The Floor”, pack that imaginary little suitcase you’ve kept hidden beneath the floorboards, and go find yourself again. 

Their setlist included a mix of songs from each of their five albums, many of which from their newest release Automatic that came out this past February. The drop was quickly followed with an announcement of their 2025 tour that began just a few weeks ago in July. 

Hearing The Lumineers perform brought up many feelings and memories, just as I expected would happen. But the thing I love best about them is that, on top of that wonderful folkish spirit and sound, they give listeners hope. I wasn’t the only person healing that night. I watched as the crowd sang and swayed, many reaching their hands up to the sky.

It was truly an spiritual experience.

While there are certainly other bands which have brought similar reactions, a similar type of magic, it’s not something many can achieve. Not like this night. I chose to stop hurting and take my power back. The Lumineers gave me new room to love their music again, songs which have long accompanied my life. And I’m not done singing yet.

Photography by Sean Rider; article by Michelle Zigler

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