Once upon a time, it was folk rock, and these days it's Americana, but it's still singers who can sing, often accompanied by acoustic instruments. It's music that someone wearing a Slayer shirt or a 50 Cent shirt probably would not dig, but this stuff has never gone away since its debut in those silly '60s. If you enjoy Mumford & Sons, The Head and The Heart and the Avett Brothers, then the latest folk rockers you've never heard of, The Lumineers, figure to tear it up at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara tonight. A few months later, their self-titled debut figures to end up on many year-end lists.
Just as no one can hide in a trio, cello-playing Lumineer Neyla Pekarek not only fits in but stands out -- cellos do that ever since the days of the New York Rock Ensemble to the Avett Brothers today. When the boys in the band, Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, relocated from New Jersey to Denver, they found Neyla and her cello on Craigslist. Fast-forward through the blood, sweat and tears of Rock Star 101 and here they come.
