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The Lumineers’ Jeremiah Fraites tells us about meeting Obama and exploring SA!

Cape Town – The Lumineers are back in South Africa and well, we couldn’t be more excited.

Their first stop was Cape Town and while they brought the rain on their arrival they definitely brought the heat on stage!

The Lumineers

Their next stop is Johannesburg, but first Channel24 got to sit down with The Lumineers drummer Jeremiah Fraites and chat about their latest album, South African delicacies and touring the country.

Welcome back to South Africa! You arrived a couple of days ago, what have you been up to?

I think I’ve done everything you can do in South Africa. My wife is here and we went to Robben Island, which was crazy because the rain came and we took a boat. It was also just crazy to go there and see the cell where Mandela was for 28 years, it was pretty overwhelming.

We also got to go to Langa. We’ve also done more light-hearted things, we got to pet some cheetahs at Cheetah Outreach and I know some of the other guys in the crew went to see the Great White shark tank. It’s been such a culturally rich experience.

The Lumineers

Your last show in SA was three years ago and a lot has changed since then. What can fans expect from this show that is different to your last show?

One obvious thing is that we have another album so the amazing thing is that we do have more music. I think we’ve also grown, not just in age but I think that we’re better performers, we put on a better show and I think people get their money’s worth even more than they did three or four years ago with the music.

We’re also just so excited to play the new album and plus coming to South Africa is such a special experience.

The Lumineers

You have been on tour for the last few months, any crazy stories?

Good or bad?

Thankfully we got to meet the previous president, Barack Obama before he left and now if we had the chance to meet the president I would not do it, it would be a disgrace to meet him. But we got to meet Obama twice and it was just amazing, he put our song, Stubborn Love, on his Summertime Spotify playlist  and in the States that was like a huge deal for us. That was one of the good crazy things to happen to us.

Listen to Stubborn Love here:

What’s the best part about being part of The Lumineers and touring as a band?

Lately I’ve really been embracing the fact that we do travel. I think when you travel to a lot of the same places, coming back here, with my wife now, I really want to take advantage of having two full off days in South Africa. I mean how lucky am I to be able to go up to Cape Point and walk with baboons or pet a cheetah or go to Langa.

And also just knowing that we already have a really cool job that allows us to connect with people from different cultures and who speak different languages. I’m just really thankful for that.

The Lumineers

Have you tried any of our local delicacies since you’ve been here?

Is sheep’s head one? I didn’t try it but I have some really cool photos of a woman preparing all these sheep’s heads. She was sheering them with sticks and that stuff. Seeing that was really cool but I don’t know if I’d try it. I’ve recently started leaning more towards being a vegetarian, but I guess if somebody had some I’d probably just try it.

What do you always take with you on tour?

I guess it’s a stupid answer but it’s the black boots, black pants, a belt, suspenders and my hat. Besides that, I always like to bring a good sweatshirt, I had my favourite one but I lost it. Whenever we fly and when we’re on a bus or going to sleep in a hotel, I think it’s like the one constant in an ever-changing environment.

The Lumineers

(Photos: Nardus Engelbrecht/Channel24. Special thanks to Canon South Africa)

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