The Lumineers Bring Confetti-Filled Fun to Nationals Park
BY LIZ BAUMMERThe Lumineers are the perfect soundtrack to a late-Summer, early-Fall Saturday night. And apparently tens of thousands of people agree with me because on Saturday, September 6 Nationals Park, which holds upwards of 41,000 people, was packed. Even the on and off rain couldn’t stop the fans from flooding into the stadium. While there was a brief shelter in place for a nearby storm before the first opener went on stage, the show didn’t experience any major delays. As it continued to sprinkle and mist, fans immediately made their way down to their seats as soon as the all clear was given with a number donning rain ponchos in a variety of colors.
The night started off with Chance Peña. I learn very quickly that I am actually a massive fan of Peña. I simply was not aware of the sheer amount of his discography I was familiar with without knowing it was him. I particularly love how guitar heavy Peña’s music is. For me personally, one of my favorite feelings in the whole world is listening to a song with a strong guitar part. The feeling of listening to strong strums is ethereal and Peña’s music definitely delivers that.
The second opener was Vance Joy. Vance Joy holds an incredibly special place in my heart. My best friend who I’ve known since we were six played Riptide for me back before it had gone mainstream. I remember all those years ago that she gave me a hard time for not appreciating that song enough. She was, as always, entirely right! Over the years it has grown on me, and hearing an entire stadium brought tears to my eyes thinking of her and I all those years ago. Since then I’ve grown to love Vance Joy’s entire discography and seeing him live was a bucket list opportunity for me. The other photographer and I were dancing in the pit and singing along to every word even sharing a few moments pointing at each other in between songs.
And with two incredible openers done we were on the main event… The Lumineers!!!!
One of the best parts of The Lumineers’s show is their ability to cultivate an atmosphere through their production. Their stage had an arrow shaped thrust that allowed the band to come out into the standing pit crowd. The fans were also very close to the stage with no significant space between the barricade and the stage itself. This really allowed fans to get up close to the band and really be a part of the performance. It was so fun to photograph different members on stage and the entire bottom of the image is the fans reaching directly up towards them. The Lumineers also shot off some serious confetti, and honestly that will always be one of my favorite production elements of all time. There’s nothing quite as special as being engulfed in tiny pieces of paper as they rain down on you from all angles. Plus I’m a big fan of confetti as a fun, free little memento from a really good show! I have, on several occasions, put some in my pockets and taken it home lol. Finally, The Lumineers had LED bracelets for each fan. There is something about turning around and seeing an entire stadium full of bright dots that has the ability to make a venue feel expansive and you feel so small in the best possible way.
The Lumineers also had a couple surprised up their sleeve for their show. Both of the openers joined The Lumineers on stage at different points during the set. Chance Peña joined The Lumineers for Charlie Boy, and Vance Joy joined for Gale Song. Additionally the Racing Presidents, mascots of the Washington Nationals, made a surprise appearance on stage!
Overall, The Lumineers show is incredibly fun! I barely noticed the less than ideal weather because I was so enthralled by their performance that it didn’t matter that myself (or my gear) were definitely a little damp. Plus, The Lumineers vocals live are even better than on record… which is saying a lot because they sound pristine on record. It’s not every day that you find an artist that can successfully cultivate not only a stunning vocal performance but also an unmatched technical performance. Everything about The Lumineers live gets a 10/10! If you get a chance to catch them on the rest of their tour which continues through November 8 (including festival dates) in North America and February 8, 2026 globally, I would highly HIGHLY recommend.
