"…So, I came here specifically to ask—any chance you guys are interested?"
Once again, Jeremiah's gaze landed on Ronan, his eyes brimming with anticipation. You could feel the enthusiasm radiating off him—no dramatic facial expression needed!
But before Ronan could even respond, Maxim's voice cut in from the side, breaking the moment. "Jeremiah, our captain's Cliff. You should be asking him about stuff like this."
Ronan blinked, caught off guard. His first thought? Wait, the band has a captain? And then, hot on its heels: The captain's not the lead singer? Before he could sort out an answer, Ollie's voice grabbed his attention. "If we'd left the captain gig to Ronan, this band would've crashed and burned ages ago, right?"
Ronan's back might as well have been a pincushion full of arrows—ouch! "Hey! Don't I get any respect around here?" he shot back.
The word "I" slipped out before he realized it, and it hit him—he was slowly slipping into this whole situation, step by step, getting comfy with the role and the vibe. He wasn't sure why "Ronan Cooper" was apparently the punching bag, but man, his back was feeling it. He puffed up, glaring at Ollie with clenched teeth and a raised fist.
Eyes wide with mock fury!
"Hahahaha!" Ollie doubled over, laughing so hard it echoed like a shockwave, practically rattling Ronan's eardrums. The sound bounced around in his head like some comic book superhero power-up.
Amid all this back-and-forth chaos, Jeremiah stayed chill, though the corners of his mouth twitched upward a bit. "I get it, I totally get it. Our lead singer's Wesley, but I'm the one stuck with the captain duties. Every time something like this comes up, either I step forward and people are like, 'Wait, why's the drummer talking?' or they go straight to Wesley—and he couldn't care less."
He aimed those words at Cliff, a hint of helplessness in his tone—not because of the role mix-up, but more the awkward reality of being "captain." Turns out, it's less about leading and more about being the grunt who handles the dirty work.
Maxim, though, totally misread Jeremiah's vibe. He'd been looking at Ronan not because he thought Ronan was the captain, but because Ronan was the spark of their stage performance. That's why Jeremiah had come over with the invite in the first place—performance charisma was the real deal here.
Naturally, his eyes kept drifting back to Ronan.
But Jeremiah didn't correct Maxim. Instead, he rolled with it and turned to Cliff. "So, what do you think about the Full Moon Party? Interested?"
Cliff's insides were churning—think boiling lava with a faint whiff of something burning—but he played it cool on the outside. "Of course! Joining the Full Moon Party craziness would be an honor. Thing is, we missed the sign-up deadline. What you were saying earlier…"
Missing the deadline was a slick excuse, but the real story? Tralastan probably never even signed them up. Maybe his "giving up" on them started way earlier than they'd thought.
Cliff didn't finish, but Jeremiah caught the drift and jumped in. "Our band would be thrilled to recommend you guys. We'd love to see more styles and colors lighting up the Full Moon Party stage. No doubt, it's gonna be a blast!"
But that wasn't all. Jeremiah knew what Cliff was really fishing for, so he went on, introducing himself further.
"Me and four other buddies started a band called The Lumineers. Three months ago, we got lucky and dropped our first album. Haven't made waves yet, though—still splashing around in the shallow end. Right now, we're road-tripping across North America. Been parked in New Orleans for two weeks already."
That was the key info Cliff needed—who were these guys, anyway? A band with enough clout to play the Full Moon Party and recommend others?
Otherwise, some random stranger popping up out of nowhere with a big favor? Suspicious vibes all around. If Jeremiah were in their shoes, he'd be side-eyeing the whole thing too. This isn't exactly the "leave your doors unlocked and sing about kindness" era anymore.
So, Jeremiah kindly cleared up Cliff's unspoken questions.
"'Ho, Hey'?" Ronan blurted out, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
Jeremiah turned back to him, flashing a genuine grin. "Guess our road tour's paying off a little, huh?"
The Lumineers kicked off in 2001, starting with just Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz. They got their start in New Jersey, hustled in New York, and finally rounded out the trio in Denver, Colorado, with cellist Neyla Pekarek—completing the band puzzle.
In 2011, the crew shot a rough demo of "Ho, Hey" in a tiny apartment. Out of nowhere, two music agents caught wind of it, loved it, and bankrolled their first album out of their own pockets. From there, it was all underground gigs and road tours to spread the word.
Late last year, the TV show Hart of Dixie picked up "Ho, Hey" as the Season 2 theme. Fans went wild, radio play shot up, and that breakthrough snagged them a record deal. Finally, this April, the album dropped.
Ronan, though? He didn't know The Lumineers from Hart of Dixie. Nope—his knowledge came from his past life's memories.
Their debut album was a real "good things come to those who wait" story. It snuck out quietly, built a slow burn of love and hype, and ten months after release, it exploded—rave reviews, media buzz, peaking at #2 on the Billboard charts, and scoring Grammy nods for Best New Artist and Best Americana Album.
In a fast-paced digital world, The Lumineers' rise was straight-up legendary. They kept the momentum going with more albums later, cementing their spot.
Ronan? Huge, huge fan.
They're a folk-rock crew, and whether it's the original three or the two who joined before this year's album, they're all multi-instrument wizards—mandolin, cello, piano, ukulele, you name it. Their arrangements and lyrics? Pure life-wisdom gold.
Fun fact: before the album, founding members Jeremiah and Wesley gigged at random venues, just like One Day Kings—think bar singers grinding it out. From 2001 to 2011, they chased the dream through a decade of loneliness and grit.
And now? Ronan couldn't believe it—he was face-to-face with Jeremiah from The Lumineers!
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