Lumineers Bassist Stelth Ulvang Headlines Vail Bar Show

Aspen —The neon sign buzzes against the dark Vail sky, casting a pink glow over the wet pavement outside Shakedown Bar. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of stale beer and anticipation. It’s Thursday night, and the room is filling up, not for a local open mic, but for a man who usually stands in front of arenas holding a bass guitar.

Stelth Ulvang isn’t the face of The Lumineers. He’s the guy in the back, the one who switches from bass to mandolin to saxophone without missing a beat. But tonight, he’s the headliner.

According to the Vail Daily, Ulvang is using the gap between The Lumineers’ tours to chase his own sounds. Frontman Wesley Schultz is hunkered down writing a new record, which leaves Ulvang with the rarest commodity in rock and roll: time.

“It’s a welcome break, but I still love performing and making my own music in the meantime, and doing shows like the one we’re going to do on Thursday,” Ulvang told the paper.

He’s bringing a full band, Heavy Diamond Ring, who are dropping a new EP, Let Love Be Enough, in October. But the real story here is the man himself. Ulvang grew up in Loveland and Fort Collins, raised by a grandfather who played in army bands. That old man bought him his first clarinet and his first saxophone, planting the seed for a musical life that would eventually lead him to New York, then back to Colorado, and finally to the stage at Shakedown Bar.

He met Wesley Schultz and drummer Jeremiah Fraites around 2009 or 2010. They were moving to Colorado from New York, and Ulvang was helping them figure out how to book shows and tour on their own. He helped them book their first tour. Then they needed a bassist. So he jumped in.

Now, he’s the “Swiss Army knife” of the band, as he puts it. He plays guitar, mandolin, bass, percussion, piano, saxophone, accordion, and more. He even writes songs and performs with his wife, singer-songwriter-guitarist Dorota Szuta. Together, they’re part of the indie-rock trio Heavy Gus, with drummer Ryan Dobrowski.

But tonight, it’s just Ulvang and his friends. No arena lights. No thousands of fans. Just a bar, a stage, and a man who loves to play.

He stands there, long enough, and you realize he’s not waiting for The Lumineers to call. He’s already playing.