Headlining the stage at Manchester’s Albert Hall, successful Colorado band The Lumineers charged the old Methodist Central Hall with their energised yet earthy performance.

‘Ophelia’ amongst their many other hits was played for their extremely diverse audience, all of whom were passionately chanting the lyrics to both the upbeat and soulful tracks and quite literally had ‘Flowers In Their Hair’, excitably referring to their accessory once the band played the track.

First track on their latest album release, ‘Sleep On the Floor’, was played alongside the rest of their set list. Flawless vocals opened the night, evidently only complimented by the incredibly quirky, cello introduced, yet country pop acquired backing to their numbers.

Without a shadow of a doubt, their biggest number being ‘Hey Ho’ saw the entirety of the audience light up from light-heartedness. Noticeably, the band collectively came together within the number providing us only an insight to their energy, passion and overall fun that they share as a band. It was evident that the band were having an equally great night to their audience.

Quirky approaches to sounds was visible by scraping the already-worn piano down with sandpaper, enabling the vocalist to be backed up by the originally simplistic yet earthy sounds within tracks such as ‘Gun Song’ – increasing the atmospheric vibe of the night.

Upbeat number ‘Cleopatra’ sent the hall into a frenzy with their memorable beat, before pacifyingly progressing into an acoustic version of 2012’s ‘Aint Nobody’s Problem’, where the crowd took over the lead vocals of Wesley Schultz. ‘Angela’ and ‘In the Light’ followed the pattern with less upbeat numbers, although the crowd’s participation was encouraged again towards the end, after climbing up a beam before clapping to the upstairs seated area, involving the crowd even further.

‘Stubborn Love’ was the highlight of the night though, tranquilly summarising their unique sound with their blend of guitar and cello work combined. The Lumineers’ now embark on their London gig at O2’s Brixton Academy on 24^th April; If their performance is as energised as Manchester’s, you’re in for a treat.

Lottie Stuart
@iminavest_