Apr 1, 2020
Addiction has touched the lives of The Lumineers' Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz. Jeremiah’s brother, with whom Wes was also close, was just 19 when he died of a heroin overdose. Wes meanwhile has been dealing with the addiction of an anonymous family member for years. And it’s these experiences that inform The Lumineers latest album, III.
It’s a concept album split in three chapters and focused on three generations of the fictional Sparks family, who are torn apart by drug addiction, alcoholism and tragedy. Not surprisingly, writing it touched on a lot of raw emotions for both Wes and Jeremiah as they explain in this interview.
We also talk about the band’s formative years, the intense levels of dedication it took the duo to find success, how music helped them with their grief and much more.