Inside The Lumineers’ emotional concert in Kansas City — for fans and performers
With cheers that would not subside between songs and voices singing the lyrics as one, Kansas City concert-goers showed their love for The Lumineers, chanting the famous “I belong with you, you belong with me // You’re my sweetheart” right with the famous folk band.
The group responsible for hits like “Ho Hey” and “Ophelia” performed Saturday night at the T-Mobile Center for a crowd decked out in flannels, florals, denim and cowboy boots.
The Lumineers came to the stage for the stop on their Automatic Tour illuminated by beams of colorful light and back-lit by nature graphics.
Founding members Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites and their band had tricks up their sleeves audience members engaged throughout the concert — confetti canons, appearances in the aisles and even a barefoot headstand on a piano.
Attendees were rarely caught seated. Voices sang along to nearly every word of fan favorites like “Cleopatra” and “Charlie Boy.” Some dabbed their eyes during ballads while others swayed to the beat during passionate numbers.
The Lumineers bring raw emotion
It is the lyricism that makes The Lumineers one of Silas Smith’s top 10 bands. The 30-year-old fan who likes to play the group’s “Gale Song” on guitar said its music is something that he can turn to for “perspective.”
“Even though if you can’t relate like, ‘I’ve literally lived through that,’ you can kind of still feel it and see it in your own way,” Silas Smith said. “It can definitely help you get through things, for sure.”
Like Silas Smith, solo concert-goer Kaelyn Smith said she thinks The Lumineers’ music “feels safe and feels good.” It was this feeling that caused her to buy a last minute ticket after returning from Mexico just hours before the concert, she said.
“They don’t just make music to make music,” Kaelyn Smith said, saying she loves the depth of The Lumineers’ songs.
Audience members joined together to sing songs with these heartfelt themes. A sea of phone flashlights filled the arena for “You’re All I Got,” a song that many interpret to be about holding onto a relationship through challenges.
A particularly emotional song for lead singer Schultz was the cover of “Ghost” by Justin Bieber, which he dedicated to his recently deceased brother.
“It’s been really devastating, to say the least,” Schultz said. “But I can say I’m really grateful not only to be able to play music for this band — just to be able to grieve in a way that feels like I could do something with this music. To pour our hearts out for you and you guys give us something back, this is an amazing thing.”
A meaningful show for friends and family
Many concertgoers shared their experience with loved ones.
College best friends and roommates Abby White and Claire Pearl went to the concert together. Now graduated, the two were eager to hear the songs that bonded them — “Sleep on the Floor” and “Ophelia” in particular — live.
“One of our favorite things to do in college was get away from everyone else, take a late night drive in the car and listen to The Lumineers,” Pearl said.
Addison and Ella Armiger, 16-year-old twin sisters, also said they hoped to hear “Ophelia” to bring back some of their shared childhood nostalgia.
The Automatic Tour marked the first concert the twins had been to, they said.
“I have a playlist of all the songs on the setlist, so I’m already prepared,” Addison said before the show.
Ella added that she was most excited to hear “Stubborn Love,” one of her favorite songs.
It was this song with lyrics repeating, “Keep your head up, my love,” that closed the concert. A fitting end to a lived-in, uplifting and raw performance from The Lumineers.
This story was originally published July 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
