Concert Review: Fans brave torrential rain for The Lumineers (PHOTOS)

True to form, inconsistently terrible weather could not stop a sold out crowd from seeing The Lumineers at Deer Lake Park on that first day of June. Decked out in boots, rain jackets, and ponchos, the crowd seemed rather at home in the rain; enjoying the show with beers and mini doughnuts in hand.

Formed from tragedy, the band was established back in 2002 by best friends Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites as a coping mechanism when Fraites’ brother Josh passed away from a drug overdose. After experimenting with their sound and band name over the following decade, the group really started to make waves when classically trained cellist, Neyla Pekarek joined them as they released their first single, “Ho Hey,” in late 2011. A few years and a successful self-titled debut album later and the band is back on tour promoting their sophomore studio record, Cleopatra.

Image: Brandon Artis Photography

The rain seemed to magically stop right as The Lumineers took the stage situated at the bottom of Deer Lake Park’s natural amphitheatre. The warmth of their instruments meshed with Schultz’s voice as their music wove through the crowds of wet but clearly happy listeners. While the band focused mostly on songs from their new album, they couldn’t escape the sheer energy from the crowd when the opening shouts from “Ho Hey” came around.

Part ways through the show, Schultz picked up the entire band and moved them onto a smaller stage set up in the middle of the crowd to play a few songs including a pared down version of, “Where The Skies Are Blue.” Soon after the band moved back to the main stage, the weather stopped cooperating, but the audience embraced the downpour; singing and dancing in the rain as they refused to let the weather put a dampener on their enjoyment.

Image: Brandon Artis Photography

The Lumineers performed at Deer Lake Park on June 1.

Photos for Daily Hive provided by Brandon Artis. Connect with him at @_brandonartis.