The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano).

[3] They are known for their energetic live shows and several international hit singles, including "Ho Hey", "Stubborn Love", "Ophelia", "Angela" and "Cleopatra".

[6] The Lumineers have released four albums on American independent label Dualtone Records (Dine Alone in Canada and Decca/Universal worldwide).

When Schultz and Fraites began collaborating, writing together and playing gigs around New York City, they did so under various names, including Free Beer, 6Cheek and Wesley Jeremiah.

In 2009, after considering relocating to London, Philadelphia and Boston, Fraites and Schultz, in their "ignorance and naïveté", moved to Denver, Colorado, and joined the open mic scene.

Before the move, while the band was still called Wesley Jeremiah, they had a former member, Jason "Jay" Van Dyke play with them rarely.

Van Dyke sued The Lumineers around 2008, claiming that Schultz and Fraites didn't give him the proper credit he deserved.

[19] In 2010, after the band's relocation to Denver, Fraites and Schultz met classically trained cellist Neyla Pekarek.

[20][21][22] Although Pekarek had just recently graduated from college and was planning to become a music teacher, she responded to a Craigslist ad posted by Schultz and Fraites requesting a cellist and agreed to join the band when she was invited.

[26] They originally signed a management deal with Onto Entertainment which funded the band to record a full-length album in Seattle at Bear Creek Studio with producer Ryan Hadlock.

[27] The album was then remixed by Kevin Augunas, who also worked with the Black Keys, Cold War Kids, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, J-Roddy Walston and the Business, and Jon Brion.

[30] In January 2012, John Richards, the morning show DJ at KEXP-FM in Seattle, discovered "Ho Hey" in a pile of new CDs he had received, played it twice in a row daily for a week, and called it the best song of 2012.

[33] On signing with smaller independent labels, Fraites claimed, "it's just nice to work with people that are entirely engaged.

[49] Continuing into 2013, "Ho Hey" would spend eight consecutive weeks atop Billboard's Adult Pop Songs chart.

[50][51] Simultaneously, "Stubborn Love", the second single off their self-titled album, would see two four-week runs at number one on the Adult Alternative Songs chart.

[59][60] Subsequently, on August 20, 2013, a deluxe edition of their debut album was released, which included five bonus tracks, over 25 minutes of video footage and a 28-page booklet.

[62] "Scotland", in particular, was used as the theme song for the series,[62] and was co-written by and features a performance from Jason "Jay" Van Dyke, who sometimes played with Schultz and Fraites before their move to Denver.

[77] The black and white photo on the cover depicts silent movie star Theda Bara in the title role in the 1917 film Cleopatra.

The second single, also the album's title track, "Cleopatra", sprang from an encounter with a taxi driver Wes met in the Republic of Georgia, who told a story of personal tragedy without a trace of self-pity.

Directed by Isaac Ravishankara (Ellie Goulding, Hozier, Phantogram), the film depicts Cleopatra's life story in one continuous narrative.

[94] To finish off their Cleopatra World Tour, the band announced three August 2017 "homecoming" performances at Denver's Fiddler's Green Amphitheater.

[101] On September 20, 2021, they announced their fourth studio album, Brightside, and released the title track as the lead single on the same day.

The accompanying music video was shot at Ramsey High School, the alma mater of Schultz and Fraites, employing current and former students as extras and production assistants.

[103] In 2024, The group announced the release of Live from Wrigley Field which was recorded at the final stop of the Brightside World Tour in 2022 in Chicago.

"[107] Launchpad similarly writes, "where most bands these days look for that new, original sound to enhance the digital revolution, 'The Lumineers' do superbly in taking it back to simplicity.

"[15] Alister Roberts of Contactmusic has described the band's self-titled debut album as, "a perfectly formed collection of rustic folk type songs, slotting in nicely amongst the current roots revival.

[110][111] On Mumford & Sons, Schultz has commented that they, "kicked down doors, and they allowed radio to receive a band like us because we somehow slightly resemble what they're doing.

While both bands wrap moody lyrics in toe-tapping melodies, Mumford & Sons pile on instruments in massive buildups.

[113][114] The band cites a diverse range of influences, including Bob Dylan, Beethoven, Guns N' Roses, Talking Heads, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, The Cars, Leonard Cohen, and "cinematic music and anything strange and weird.

"[115][116][117] Schultz adds Bob Dylan, Born in the U.S.A., Greatest Hits, Sand in the Vaseline, Exile on Main St., and The Future as specific album influences.