Pop Break Live: The Lumineers ‘Brightside Tour’ at The Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey – Saturday June 4, 2022
Grammy-nominated indie-folk rock band The Lumineers played to a sold out crowd at South Jersey’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion (formerly the BB&T) on Saturday June 4th. They are touring in support of their critically acclaimed album Brightside, released in March of last year.
Having cancelled some tour dates in 2020 and 2021 due to covid, 2022 has been much kinder to the band. Not only have they embarked on a huge World Tour but had the honor of being named a co-headliner for the three day Oceans Calling Festival in Maryland in September. Not to shabby to be sharing the spotlight with Dave Matthews and Alanis Morissette!
The stage setup was pretty impressive. It was more elaborate than anything they’ve done on previous tours. The lighting and graphics were absolutely beautiful at times. They also had strings of white lights scattered across the entire stage. It set the mood for a really great vibe. There was also a small catwalk that lead out into the pit area where the band could truly get up close and personal with their fans. The band kicked off with the song “Brightside” then delivered a one-two punch with their big hits “Cleopatra” and “Ho Hey,” which prompted the first of many sing-alongs during the night. At this point everyone was standing remained like that for the rest of the show.
The Lumineers are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their triple platinum self-titled debut album so I was not surprised they played at least six songs off that stellar album. They played the hits, fan favorites and some great stuff off their newest release. Both lead singer Wesley Schultz and drummer Jeremiah Fraites are Jersey natives so they paid homage to one of the Garden State’s finest, Bruce Springsteen, by playing a great cover of “Thunder Road.”
One of the highlights of the night was on the song “Big Parade.” The band suddenly froze their positions during the song and the longer they held them the louder the audience cheered! It was a really fun moment. The encore included “Donna.” Shultz asked that they turn all the lights out on this one so the venue was only lit up with cell phones. It was a beautiful moment. He also thanked the audience for coming out as it was the biggest crowd they’d ever played. The night ended with one of the loudest sing-alongs I’ve ever heard with “Stubborn Love.”
The Lumineers have an amazing ability to make shows so intimate, even amongst a crowd of almost 26,000. This is what I’d call a “feel good” show and definitely a must see band!
