Lumineers’ Stelth Ulvang returns to his roots

By Jessica Benes

The last time Stelth Ulvang was on the Rialto Theater stage, he was just a young boy performing with the Missoula Children’s Theater, and the stage seemed massive to him.

“The stage will be a lot smaller now that I’m used to bigger theaters, but I remember as a kid — it was so big. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like standing on that stage again,” Ulvang, 29, said during a recent phone interview.

Though he now is known more for playing in the popular band The Lumineers than his acting, Ulvang will return to the Rialto Theater stage Thursday, March 26, to perform a solo concert as part of a fundraiser for the Thompson Education Foundation.

Ulvang was born in Fort Collins and lived in Loveland. He attended Mountain View High School and was a member of the Class of 2004, the first full graduating class (students started in the school’s first freshman group and graduated as seniors) from the then-newest high school in Loveland. Ulvang participated in Mountain View’s choir and musical theater, including a 2004 production of “Bye Bye Birdie.”

“It was fun being there with all new teachers and students,” he recalled.

He was living in Denver in 2011 when he met the members of The Lumineers through the Internet.

“We set up a house show together and played a little together,” he said. “When they were in need of a band member, it was easy for me to jump in.”

The Lumineers were nominated for two awards at the 2013 Grammys, Best New Artist and Best Americana Album

He said the band is working on an album they plan to record this summer.

“We’re taking some time off to write this record right now,” said Ulvang, a multi-instrumentalist who is known for his piano prowess with The Lumineers.

He took the opportunity to keep alive his own music by working on a solo project. Ulvang is touring with his band for a couple of months and was excited to put Loveland on his list of gigs.

“It kind of worked out to be the tail end of the tour. I’m excited for the show,” said Ulvang, whose recently released album, And As Always the Infinite Cosmos, contains songs written while he was in New Zealand.

He said some of the songs are arranged with 15 people in an orchestra, and some are just Ulvang and a drummer.

As for the benefit concert, one of Ulvang’s former teachers, Peter Toews, contacted him through Facebook to ask him to take part. Ulvang will be joined on the bill by Jason Aaron, a Berthoud High graduate who now lives in Denver.

The Thompson Education Foundation is hoping to raise money through the concert for Thompson Schools’ instrumental music repair endowment, according to Kim Akeley-Charron, executive director of the Thompson Education Fund.

“We are trying to build an endowment for all secondary schools for instrument repair,” Akeley-Charron said.

The board is hoping to raise $33,000 to increase the fund to $100,000, which will provide enough money for every school in the district to repair instruments on an annual basis.

“The district doesn’t have enough funding to provide additional money for instrument repair,” Akeley-Charron said. “Some instruments can be really expensive and decimate a budget so this provides a little cushion.”

Jessica Benes: 970-669-5050 (ext. 530), jbenes@reporter-herald.com, twitter.com/jessicabenes.