The Lumineer in my Neighborhood

The Lumineers’ new album “III” drops this Friday, September 13, and the band gave fans a preview when they christened the Mission Ballroom in Denver last month, the first band to play the groovy new AEG Presents venue in RiNo Art District.

I had the opportunity to interview Jeremiah Fraites, a founding member of The Lumineers, for the Denver Business Journal. DBJ published my feature for their A&E page last month.

I met Jer one day while walking to yoga class with my ear buds in and my Pandora Thumbprint Radio on. But when I heard a guitar strumming between songs, I looked up and saw a man with a guitar and a dog on a balcony. I took a couple more steps, then stopped in my tracks, stunned. I backtracked a couple of steps and looked up at the balcony to have another look. I recognized Jeremiah because I’d covered a Lumineers concert for The Denver Post and was close enough to the stage to see the players’ faces. Jeremiah wasn’t wearing his trademark hat or suspenders, and I knew he typically played drums or piano, not guitar.

I looked at Jeremiah. Jeremiah looked at me. His dog, Spaghetti, barked.

“Are you who I think you are?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Well, who do you think I am?” he asked.

“You’re Jeremiah Fraites of The Lumineers,” I said.

He nodded. I gushed. Starstruck.

About a year later, I passed the same balcony on a walk and saw Jeremiah again, this time with his wife and their baby. We chatted, again, and eventually scheduled our interview.

Awaiting the new record by The Lumineers feels extra special knowing the music is created not just by a favorite band, but, in part, by a friendly neighbor.

You can read the full article here if you are subscribed to DBJ.

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2019/05/24/lumineers-new-album-denver-band.html

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Jeremiah Fraites: The Rockstar in the neighborhood. Photo by Alexis Rankin

CEO of Denver Botanic Gardens on growth, ascension and his home garden

While interviewing the Denver Botanic Gardens CEO for this feature (link below) in Denver Business Journal, I asked about his garden at home.

“I have a rock garden with ice plants, penstemons, mystery plants, a lot of volunteers,” he said. “I have a dry creek bed with ornamental grasses and large boulders. I have two [shrubs known as] witch’s brooms.”

When I inquired about his favorite plants, he said, “Penstemons. When you plant them, they look great, and then they move during winter and scatter in the garden and make it naturalistic.”

He also has a high-minded approach to leadership and has cultivated the growth of DBG since he took over as CEO. And the plants aren’t the most important aspect of his job, he said. The people are.

“I love these people. I try to express how inspired I am by them, but I don’t know if they get it,” said Vogt. “I get choked up a lot. As a leader, my job is to build everybody’s morale and make sure they’re raising bar and thinking bigger every year I find this group lifts each other well and protects our culture so powerfully. My job is to find them support they need to live their dream.”

Learn more about Vogt’s dream in my Q&A with the CEO in DBJ: https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2019/09/06/denver-botanic-gardens-ceo-brian-vogt.html

#ByColleenSmith #DenverBusinessJournal #DenverBotanicGardens #PublicGardens #DenverTouristAttractions

Denver Botanic Gardens received the 2018 Award for Garden Excellence by American Public Gardens Association.