EPIC CONCERT ALERT! For those fans who were late on the draw in their attempt to snag The Lumineers Cleopatra World Tour tickets and subsequently unwilling to pay unjustifiable resale prices (aka FeenyFresh), The Lumineers threw a 93 MPH curveball of a social media newsflash at us all. On Sunday night, lead singer Wesley Schultz announced through a heartfelt and sentimental Facebook post that their journey would not end with their final performance on the Cleopatra World Tour. Instead, they’re adding 10 more performances as an opening act, latching on to U2’s “The Joshua Tree” 30th Anniversary stadium tour. Yes, you read that correctly, one of the highest charting bands of the past year is humbling themselves by supplementing one of the great rock-pop bands of the 80’s/90’s…as an OPENER. That’s not only deferential, that’s one of the best non-festival lineups I’ve ever seen.

As many would predict, my journey of telling anyone within earshot about this concert brought multiple U2 haters out of the woodwork. I truthfully never understood the polarizing nature associated with Bono and his ensemble, but his success is palpably balanced with outspoken aversion from a large chunk of the public. The way I see, U2’s success can’t really be compromised considering they’ve produced eight number 1 singles on the modern rock charts and have literally sold hundreds of millions of records. Regardless, to all the U2 haters, I only have one thing to say: ignore Bono! This is a rare second chance to view one of the great folk-rock bands of our generation, and you can do it for a half-decent price if you play your cards right. The fan club pre-sale begins this Friday, which means all you have to do is join The Lumineers fan club “The Big Parade” through their website www.thelumineersfanclub.com, and you automatically get first access to the best seats for comparably favorable discounts. That isn’t to say the tix will be cheap, but for the performance you’re sure to get, I’d argue they’re close to invaluable.

Back to the endearing and broken love song at hand. The Lumineers journey to superstardom has been steady and inevitable, as their debut self-titled 2012 album was loaded to the brim with songs of modesty, homeyness, and and intimacy. “Stubborn Love” represents a fragmented actualization of the latter, as a girl refuses herself what she wants over and over to the point of personal darkness, general misunderstanding from her significant other, and a love that refuses to quit among a plague of collective sadness and frustration. “Stubborn Love” is a familiar face to those akin to the alternative/folk world, but to the general public The Lumineers’ “Ho Hey” cast a shadow of potential popularity, The former topped out charting at number 70 while “Ho Hey” climbed all the way up to number 3 into the nation’s hearts. The entire 2012 album is worth the listen through for those interested in the aforementioned concerts, as Wesley Schultz’s crew is certain to dabble in some of the more intrinsically folky jams over their worldwide expedition.