LORD HURON BRINGS THEIR COSMIC SELECTOR TOUR TO WAUKEE WITH SOLD OUT SHOW

Sunday, July 19th: Canada wildfire smoke and 90-degree heat did not stop fans from waiting outside in an extensive line that stretched along the sidewalk around the grounds of Vibrant Music Hall to see indie rock band, Lord Huron. Many World Enders (as these fans are called) dressed the part in their vintage, earthy, and flowy layers ready to experience a night of folk noir music and cosmic western storytelling.

I cannot say enough about this venue, as every time I photograph a show there, it’s always a pleasant experience. The venue staff is always so accommodating and professional, and it’s an absolutely beautiful, modern-looking concert hall!

Supporting artists The Army, The Navy, a folk-pop duo consisting of Maia Ciambriello and Sasha Goldberg kicked off their tour as openers for Lord Huron this evening. They’ll be on tour with them through July 29, and then continue in Chicago for Lollapalooza on July 30th and 31st in Chicago. If you get the opportunity to see and listen to the harmonious sound of this duo, jump at it! They are magnificent!

While wildfire smoke filled the outside atmosphere, haze and smoke flooded Vibrant Music Hall throughout Lord Huron’s set this evening, enhancing the lighting effects as well as the cinematic performance of these incredible artists. At the approximate halfway mark of their Cosmic Selector tour, Lord Huron literally took over the stage, complete with a larger-than-life jukebox and a vintage pay phone; both which were functioning stage props throughout the night.

Songs from their 2025 album, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, released on July 18, 2025 (almost exactly one year to the date of tonight’s show), including “Who Laughs Last,” (a collaboration with Kristen Stewart) “Looking Back,” and “Bag of Bones,” were the three to kick off their set this evening. Frontman and founder, Ben Schneider (a true showman), made his way towards the glow of the vintage pay phone for the dramatic introduction of “Who Laughs Last,” their introductory performance. Low fog billowed across the stage at the beginning of “Looking Back,” and remained in effect for a majority of the evening. The entire evening was cinematic brilliance, complete with an enormous, high-definition projection screen, which helped convey the stories behind each of their songs.

Band members Miguel Briseño (bass, keys), Mark Barry (drums, vocals), and Tom Renaud (guitar), with additional touring band members Misty Boyce on keys/vocals and guitarist/vocalist Brandon Walters truly enhanced the stellar performance on stage all night long. Even Iowa-based musician Kathryn Severing Fox was featured on stage with her mad fiddle-playing skills during their performance of “Twenty Long Years,” from their 2021 album Long Lost.

Each song on their setlist was filled with emotion. “The Ghost on the Shore,” a bonus track from their 2012 album Lonesome Dreams, was a standout one for sure. Schneider began this melancholy tune with a few chords from his harmonica, as the words “feeling lost” were illuminated on a sign depicted in the scene projected onto the screen.

The lead-in to “Secret of Life,” from their 2018 album Vide Noir was unique, and the song quickly became a favorite of mine, along with “La Belle Fleur Sauvage,” from their 2015 album Strange Trails. Aside from those, one other standout number for me had to be “Ancient Names Part 1,” also from Vide Noir. This number had it all; strobes, smoke, the whole nine yards! This album may soon need to become an addition to my stack of vinyl.

They concluded their set with “The Night We Met,” from their 2015 album Strange Trails, and as far as I can remember, I don’t seem to recall at any concert I’ve ever attended, an encore set beginning with a reprise of the concluding song from the main setlist, yet Lord Huron did just that. Such a great segue into an encore performance! The glow of fans’ phones lit up the venue floor as the band made their way out for their encore, beginning with a reprise of “The Night We Met,” and then two more songs to finish off the evening’s performance.

Lord Huron’s show is nothing short of a cinematic masterpiece of a concert, complete with functional props, and background graphics on the projection screen behind them, conveying scenes of desert, woods, space, water, and even semblances of gilded-frame pictures. Blackouts between songs, with no light except for the jukebox, leaves you in anticipation for the next song on their set. I don’t want to give away/spoil too many of the elements of their show, but there’s definitely a reason this group sold out tonight’s performance. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING beats listening to music in its live version, and Lord Huron’s show is a prime example of why.

There’s still time to catch Lord Huron on their Cosmic Selector tour, with shows in the south and southeast as well as along the east coast, with their final show on this tour in Beech Mountain, NC as part of the Beech Mountain Resort Summer Concert Series on August 8th. Following that, on September 20, there’s one final show on this leg at Borderland Music Festival in East Aurora, NY. For full details, check out their tour schedule here at https://www.lordhuron.com/tour/