Basic Folk 104 – Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers

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Wesley Schultz has one of the most recognizable modern voices in folk music. His band, The Lumineers, are arguably the most popular group of the genre embarking on stadium tours worldwide to support their chart-topping records. From afar, he also seems like one of the most humble and good-natured people to have lived. After having doing a deep dive into his history and being able to talk to him in this capacity, I can confirm that the rumors are true: Wesley Schultz is very kind, thoughtful and generous. Well, at least I can confirm, he is the nicest person I’ve talked to that also has a signature Frye boot.

Wesley grew up in Ramsey, NJ with his parents, including his clinical psychologist father, who sadly died during Wes’ teen years. He became very close with his future bandmate Jeremiah Fraites after Jeremiah’s brother and Wes’ good friend Josh died of an overdose. The two bonded through grief, which they expressed through performing music. Eventually they would make their way to Colorado as The Lumineers and found massive success with their debut album, which included the huge hit “Ho Hey.” Two more hit albums followed. 2020 included plans for a world tour in support of the latest record, III. Once the pandemic hit and the world stopped, Wes and Jeremiah found themselves with free time. Jeremiah just released a beautiful instrumental album, Piano Piano. Wes also released his solo debut album, Vignettes, a covers album as a way to introduce people to songs they might not know. He performs songs by Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits, Counting Crows and for me, it came at exactly the right time. The album is calming and it grounded me in a way that only music can do. I am so fortunate for the opportunity to talk to Wes about his music. I hope you enjoy and learn something new about this very special musician!

Wesley Schultz, Introducing Vignettes: Tape 1 – “My City of Ruins”

Vignettes, the album