Words: Hayley Treadwell (Real Woman Real Review)
Photos: Andrew Treadwell (Andrew Treadwell Photography)
The Lumineers
Our first gig for 2026 and I have been looking forward to this one.
It’s a gorgeous night in Brisbane as we arrive at the entertainment centre, to a sea of cowboy boots and white flowing skirts. I kinda feel like I missed the memo, but my denim dress fits in well.
We make our way to our seats in plenty of time for the opening band, The Head and the Heart. As soon as they take the stage I am engulfed in their performance. My jaw sat open. I cried 3 times during their set.
I say quite often, I love hearing new music live as my first experience of it, and this was the perfect example of why. Had their solo show been tonight instead of Monday I would have been there! They were simply amazing. Beautiful songs and beautiful performances; if you haven’t checked them out, get on it, you won’t be disappointed.
When the opening band is just as good as the main act, it makes for a special night. The Head and the Heart were the absolute perfect accompaniment to The band that bought us here, The Lumineers.
Trying to put into words the experience of seeing The Lumineers live is a tricky one to be honest. I could run you through how they sung songs old and new, the moments the crowd erupted louder or lit up the arena, the beautiful harmonies that rang out through the arena, but what I really want to tell you about is the fun!!
There are constant moving parts between instruments and who’s playing which one at what time and where they are on the stage, what a group of incredibly talented people. There is dancing and acrobatics atop of pianos, moments of sheer craziness that made me gasp and then smile from ear to ear, all through the night! It was such an enjoyable experience!
Band members making their way through the crowd with nothing more than a camera man with them!
During the last song, the acrobat himself, Stelth Ulvang walked across rails in the middle of the crowd to get closer to fans and then once back in the middle of the the floor, rocked out with a bunch of fans gathered round! What a moment for those people!
A night with The Lumineers is spent celebrating music! The musicians on stage are beholding, each and every one of them. And Wesley Schultz on lead vocals is sensational and captivating.
His vocals deliver moments so deep you see people wiping the tears from their eyes, and then in the next song, the whole crowd is happily singing along and shouting out lyrics!
The energy of this show was next level. As I looked around the arena everyone was happy and dancing and singing and enjoying a great time.
We had a wonderful night out with The Lumineers, thank you so much for having us along, we hope to experience this joy with you again soon.
A big thanks to Frontier Touring and the amazing staff and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. First gig of the year ticked off and was fantastic!
Until the next gig
Hayley
