Gig review: The Lumineers, Edinburgh

It seems entirely sensible, given Mumford and Sons’ huge exported success in America, that the States might respond with a similar band of their own.

The Lumineers' lead singer, Wesley Keith Schultz. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Corn Exchange

***

Colorado’s Lumineers might not be carbon copies, borrowing something of the warmth of Bon Iver or the ad hoc, downhome Americana of Dylan, but in their breezy, folk-infused sound there’s definitely a connection with the Mumfords’ commercially winning sound.

They’re also, this show confirmed for us, a substantial success themselves, with their recorded achievements (both their eponymous debut album and first single Hey Ho went top three in the States and top ten in the UK) backed up by an appetite for their live show which saw one of Edinburgh’s largest concert venues comfortably sold out in advance. There was a real sense that the fact it was Saturday night sustained the atmosphere, with the quintet’s warm-hearted and upbeat country-folk repertoire best suited to an audience who didn’t have to worry about work in the morning.

Despite the size of the hall a certain sense of intimacy was achieved, although singer Wesley Schultz’s efforts were in vain when he halted the homespun Darlene and requested that people stop recording with their phones. Yet the bulk of the set was easy to take to heart – including an early rendition of Hey Ho, Schultz’s initially solo Morning Song and the lively finale The Big Parade – even though a tendency to musically amble along while their singer’s striking holler held things together allowed the attention to wander on occasion.