The Lumineers at CMAC in Canandaigua, New York on Friday May 27, 2022

Note to self: when attending a concert leave early to allow for plenty of time to get to your seat. A packed house and slow traffic leading up to the ampitheatre provided a backdrop for The Lumineers who rocked Canandaigua on the Friday before Memorial Day.

Opening act Caamp was mid set when I arrived. The band aligned single file on stage and had a vaguely reminiscent Beach Boys vibe both visually and sonically. Caamp was folky but could also jam out hard when it surprisingly morphed into a few minutes of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” which was presumably in support of Ukraine. Caamp brought it’s A-game and for the first time since I saw Kacey Musgraves open for Willie Nelson at CMAC, an opening band received a standing ovation from members of the audience. I dug them.

Tons of bands tread on the Americana path. The Lumineers are among those groups who have risen to the top of a crowded genre. No doubt about it, The Colorado based act is a great live band. Lead singer Wesley Schultz certainly has the look and the voice to be a front man of the highest caliber while the rest of group has virtuosity to carry tunes forward. For a group with two keyboardists, that sound did not always overtake its guitar driven dynamic but it did create an undercurrent. Tunes like “Ophelia” and of course “Ho Hey” got the crowd singing along. The stage set up which included a cool light show and projected images on a large circular screen added to a sense of large venue grandeur. Once the band concluded it’s set, the performers quickly left the stage, as the audience demanded an encore. I had to get moving to avoid the rush back home and walked back to my car that was parked away in a shopping mall. As I was walking you could hear music of The Lumineers bounce off Canandaigua city streets for at least 20 minutes. It was a good feeling. 7/10

By Roman Jones. Photo credit: Roman Divezur