If there’s one thing that You Hear That stands in stark opposition against, it’s nepotism. With great power (like the power wielded by this blog) comes great responsibility, and using influence as tremendous as that which is thrown around on these hallowed pages to advance the agendas of family members or friends would be straight-up wrongsville. I mean, look at George W. Bush. People were so outraged when they found out his father had also been president that they made him stick around for four additional years to think about what he’d done. Or how about the Williams sisters, who always seem to produce a winner when pitted against one another in tennis matches. How “convenient.”

That’s why I refuse to write a blog post saying that you should definitely go see The Lumineers open for Brandi Carlile at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden this Friday. Furthermore, I will not provide a link to the site where you can buy tickets, with the recommendation that you snag yours quickly before they sell out. You see, I went to the same college as Wesley Schultz, the lead singer of The Lumineers, and even played in a band with him for a short time near the end of our senior year. Given that background, it would be unethical for me to launch into an explanation of why I absolutely love his group’s eponymous album, and why I think Friday’s show shouldn’t be missed.

That’s why I’ll suppress every urge to say that The Lumineers is the kind of affecting, momentum-generating album that has the power to lift you up from your lowest low or keep you flying through your highest high, with lyrics that speak plainly and earnestly to those noblest of aspirations living quietly within your sense of self. I’ll also refrain from going on a mini-diatribe about how the courage that Schultz has shown throughout his journey as a musician (the group’s site has an extremely well-written bio, if’n you’re interested) gives credence to these lyrics, a fact that transforms the album from a collection of beautiful and catchy songs into a collection of beautiful and catchy artifacts, each one offering incontrovertible proof that the best art is made with painful honesty. And I certainly won’t point out that The Lumineers’ songs, replete with hand claps, foot stomps, and background shouts, are ripe for crowd participation, meaning that there’s an excellent chance that the determination and energy found in songs like “Ho Hey” and “Submarines” will be coming alive all around you if you come watch the band perform on Friday evening at Lewis Ginter.

Well, then. I hope I’ve made myself perfectly clear. Favoritism will not be tolerated ’round these parts, and just so you know I mean it, I will not reference the fact that two of my favorite Lumineers songs are posted below for your sampling pleasure, or that clicking this link will take you to iTunes, where you can download their album for the modest sum of $9.99. Just know that I plan to be there at Lewis Ginter on Friday, as does Travis, who wrote this wonderful guest post about seeing The Lumineers for his 100th concert. And if any or all of you fine people decide to go too, I bet we’ll have a kickass time together.

The Lumineers — “Ho Hey” [Spotify/iTunes]

The Lumineers — “Submarines” [Spotify/iTunes]