music wednesdays : the lumineers, Ho Hey

today's artist: the lumineers song: Ho Hey

they are originally from New York City, pilgrimmeged to Denver, Colorado. the story of how they made it is touching, "Born out of sorrow, powered by passion, ripened by hard work, The Lumineers have found their sound when the world needs it most."

here's their story (via thelumineers):

Wesley Schultz, 9, who wants to be an artist, said, ‘I spend a lot of time on my drawings and it turns out good ‘cause I’ve been practicing a lot.’”
-The New York Times, 3/15/92

Twenty years ago, Wesley Schultz saw the future.

Back then, growing up in the New York City suburb of Ramsey, New Jersey, Wesley spent his days drawing side by side with his best friend, Josh Fraites. Today, as bandleader of The Lumineers, Wesley’s replaced his pencil with a guitar, his drawings with songs, and plays side by side with Joshua’s younger brother Jer- emiah. He still practices a lot, and it still turns out good.

But The Lumineers’ story didn’t come so easily.

It begins in 2002, the year Jeremiah’s brother, Josh, died from a drug overdose at 19. Amidst the loss and grief, Wes and Jer found solace in music, writing songs and playing gigs around New York. After bat- tling the city’s cutthroat music scene and impossibly high cost of living, the two decided to expand their horizons. They packed everything they owned—nothing more than a couple suitcases of clothes and a trailer full of musical instruments—and headed for Denver, Colorado. It was less a pilgrimage than act of stubborn hopefulness.

The first thing they did in Denver was place a Craigslist ad for a cellist, and the first person to respond was Neyla Pekarek, a classically trained Denver native. As a trio, they began playing at the Meadowlark, a gritty basement club where the city’s most talented songwriters gathered every Tuesday for an open mic and dollar PBRs. Neyla softened Wes and Jer’s rough edges while expanding her skills to mandolin and piano. And so The Lumineers sound took shape; an amalgam of heart-swelling stomp-and-clap acoustic rock, classic pop, and front-porch folk.