The Lumineers are playing their biggest Australian shows ever, and they’re sorry for taking so long.
The period of global heartache, confusion, upheaval and irreversible change that we collectively remember and refer to as the COVID-19 pandemic saw many of us refocus on what we really love in life. And for many millions, that was music. In the case of The Lumineers, they discovered some of their most focused fans lived not in home territory in the US, but in Australia.
Now, the band is playing latest and greatest Australia and New Zealand tour. Having last played a series of intimate gigs down under in 2022, their listener growth can best be identified in just the venues: Spark Arena, Qudos Bank Arena, Sidney Meyer Music Bowl and more. “We don’t go there often enough, and they’re still listening,” said Schultz of the band’s ANZ listeners in an episode of the Rolling Stone Uncut podcast.
“The music I listened to, that’s like my forever music. And for certain people, it was amazing to realise that some people are leaning into this music to help them get through times. Like I’ve leaned into all sorts of artists like Neil Young, Bob Dylan, just like a ton of Tom Petty, just a ton of artists that I grew up loving,” Schultz continued. “And then feeling like somehow for certain people, we were filling that void for them? It means a whole lot”.
Taking stock of their listeners on Spotify, Schultz and co. realised that their music was working wonders for Australian audiences. Schultz revealed that “three of the top five cities in the world for us [by listener count], including the States, were in Australia”.
Schultz added his regrets, but excitement for their ANZ fans to get the payoff for their hard hours of listening, saying, “I just can’t wait to play these shows, because there’s like an element of this that I wish we had done this sooner. So it’s like making up for lost time”.
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Last year, The Lumineers celebrated their 20th anniversary, having been founded by Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites in New Jersey in 2005. Since then, the duo have attracted over six billion streams across five albums and landed two Grammy Award nominations, five Billboard Music Awards nods, and an American Music Award nomination.
Listen to the full episode here.
The Lumineers 2026 Australia & New Zealand Tour
Final tickets on sale now
Saturday, January 3rd
Christchurch Town Hall, Christchurch, NZ
Tickets
Tuesday, January 6th
Spark Arena, Auckland, NZ
Tickets
Friday, January 9th
Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets
Saturday, January 10th
Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, VIC
ticketek.com.au
Tuesday, January 13th
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets
Friday, January 16th
Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, NSW
Tickets
Sunday, January 18th
Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena, Adelaide, SA
Tickets
Wednesday, January 21st
RAC Arena, Perth, WA
Tickets
