Jeremiah Fraites

Jeremiah Fraites (born January 17, 1986) is an American musician. Formerly a resident of Ramsey, New Jersey, and now based in Denver, Colorado, he is one of the founding members of the band The Lumineers.

Jeremiah Fraites' family is from Ramsey, New Jersey; his mother is the director of the Redeemer Christian Nursery School in Ramsey. Fraites graduated from Ramsey High School in 2001, and William Paterson University in 2009.

Fraites' brother Josh (1982-2001) was the best friend of Wesley Schultz; after Josh's death, Jeremiah Fraites and Schultz began playing music together as a way to cope with their shared loss. After years of playing in the Fraites home, in 2005, they relocated to New York City and began to play in small clubs and at open mic nights in an attempt to find success in the music business. They played several types of music, and occasionally included other musicians while they played under various names, including Free Beer and Wesley Jeremiah.

In 2009, Fraites graduated from college. Unhappy at having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet while attempting to become full time musicians, Fraites and Schultz decided to relocate to Denver, which had a lower cost of living. They eventually placed a Craigslist ad for a cello player, which led to Neyla Pekarek joining the band.

A self-financed tour in 2009-2010 led to the band being signed to a management contract. Their management company financed an EP. As they became better known, their self-financed tour and their EP led to The Lumineers being signed to a recording contract. The band subsequently released the albums The Lumineers (2012) and Cleopatra (2016).

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