On a Tuesday evening that still clung to the golden haze of summer, the Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana, was the backdrop of stomp-clap salvation. The Lumineers brought their Automatic World Tour to town with the kind of fervor that makes you believe in the healing power of melody. It wasn’t just a concert, it was a communal experience in time that most of us so sorely need.

Opening act Hippo Campus warmed the stage with a shimmering indie set that fused art-pop with Midwestern sincerity. Led by Jake Luppen’s elastic vocals and grounded by the jazz-laced trumpet work of DeCarlo Jackson, the quintet from St. Paul worked the crowd, delivering breezy bops and layered grooves that felt tailor-made for this setting: open skies, summer breeze, and a lawn packed with barefoot dancers.

After a brief set break, Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites stepped on stage and showed why the night belonged to the Lumineers. There was a shift in the atmosphere. Backed by their expanded family of players—Lauren Jacobson (violin, vocals), Brandon Miller (guitar), Byron Isaacs (bass), Stealth Ulvang (keys and wild energy), and Derek Brown (percussion), the seven-strong cast wasted no time pulling in the audience’s attention for the evening. They opened with Same Old Song, the lead-off track from their latest LP Automatic, and the crowd answered in full-throated harmony like they’d been waiting all summer to let it out.

From there, it was a jukebox pilgrimage through their canon with Angela, Gun Song, Dead Sea, Ophelia—each met with hoots, hollers, and full-on sing-alongs from the crowd. Ho Hey might be their calling card, but it’s in the deeper cuts and new material where the band truly shines. 

A particular highlight came midway through the set with a cover of “Last Dance with Mary Jane,” Schultz channeling the aching drawl of Petty with reverence, yet not imitation. Later, Leader of the Landslide bled beautifully into You Can’t Always Get What You Want, a Stones nod that felt earned and not gimmicky. It was a subtle reminder that The Lumineers may play folk, but their spirit is pure rock and roll.

That’s the thing about a Lumineers show. It’s not just the hits or the harmonies; this is a band that shows up with their hearts in their hands, asking only that you do the same. On this warm Indiana night, with a thousand voices shouting the words to Gloria, it felt like everything, if only for a few hours, was in tune.

The Lumineers Setlist:
Same Old Song, Flowers in Your Hair, Angela, You’re All I Got, A.M. Radio, Asshole, Gun Song, Plasticine, Donna, Last Dance with Mary Jane (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover), Ho Hey, Dead Sea, Brightside, Sleep on the Floor, Gloria, Ativan, Where we Are, Slow It Down, Strings, Automatic, Ophelia, Big Parade, Leader of the Landslide/ You Can’t Always Get What You Want (The Rolling Stones cover), Salt and the Sea, New York State of Mind (Billy Joel cover), Cleopatra, Stubborn Love

Photo Gallery The Lumineers

Photos by Tony Vasquez