Stelth Ulvang is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a touring member of the

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band

The Lumineers The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing to ...

. He is also the co-founder of the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encounter ...

-based band The Dovekins. In February 2015, Ulvang released his debut album, ''And, as Always; the Infinite Cosmos''. He released three more albums (one LP and two EPs) in 2018.

Career

While working at a coffee shop on Laurel Street in Fort Collins, Ulvang developed an interest in music and decided to become a musician. Being an avid traveler, he used to busk to cover his expenses. Due to his habit of performing barefoot on stage, he has acquired the nickname "Barefoot Wanderer".

2009-2011: ''The Dovekins''

In 2009, while sailing from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

with singer-songwriter Griff Snyder on

Robin Lee Graham Robin Lee Graham (born March 5, 1949) is an American sailor. He set out to sail around the world alone as a teenager in the summer of 1965. ''National Geographic'' magazine carried the story in installments (October 1968, April 1969, October 197 ...

's '' The Return of Dove'', Ulvang came up with the idea of forming the band The Dovekins. The band's lineup included five members, all rooted in Denver's folk punk scene. The Dovekins generally played mountain-town folk and indie rock style-music. The group released two studio albums, ''Assemble the Aviary'' and ''(A)live'', in 2010. After touring regularly, The Dovekins disbanded following a final show in Austin in October 2011. The band has reunited on a few occasions since then, including at the 2018 Treefort festival in Boise.

2011-present: ''The Lumineers''

Ulvang came in touch with The Lumineers in 2009, when the latter, seeking advice on self-booking Colorado shows, interacted with him through

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

. Ulvang joined the band as a touring member in 2011. The Lumineers joined The Dovekins for their first Denver gig. Initially, Ulvang was slated to play bass guitar for The Lumineers, but he later switched to piano. He has assisted in the composition of various songs by The Lumineers, including " Stubborn Love". With The Lumineers, Ulvang has opened for U2 and

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

2012-present: Solo career

Ulvang started to compose his own music in 2012. He has since released two full-length albums and two EPs. His full-length debut album, ''And, as Always; the Infinite Cosmos'', was released in February 2015. In February 2018, Ulvang released two EPs, ''Greetings From Perpetual Summer'' and ''Take Time'', as well as a full-length album entitled ''American Boredom''. TED.com described ''And, as Always; the Infinite Cosmos'' as "a balancing act of heavy truths, humour and observation". Ulvang told the

Colorado Public Radio Colorado Public Radio (CPR) is a public radio state network based in Denver, Colorado that broadcasts three services: news, classical music and Indie 102.3, which plays adult album alternative music. CPR airs its programming on 15 full-power ...

that ''American Boredom'' is more politically themed than his other albums, which are mostly focused on environmental issues. In live performances, Ulvang is accompanied by collaborator and drummer Max Barcelow and by multi-instrumentalist Dorota Szuta.

Musicianship

Ulvang's major influences include

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

Jason Molina Jason Andrew Molina (December 30, 1973 – March 16, 2013) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. Raised in northern Ohio, he came to prominence performing and recording as Songs: Ohia, both in solo projects and with a rotating cast o ...

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic an ...

, Pavement,

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

, Dave Van Ronk,

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. Among

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s, he has been specifically influenced by

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

. Known for his ability to play a variety of instruments, Ulvang states that he plays more than 18. He mainly plays

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

. His favourite gear consists of Collings mandolin,

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electr ...

SV1 keyboard and

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

guitars. In a review of Ulvang's 2017 performance at Café Roux, Tecla Ciolfi wrote: "Ulvang’s impeccably eccentric and charming charisma effortlessly infatuated the audience before him. The artist’s peculiar foot-stomping and incredibly animated antics amongst his powerful, minimally-layered sound was a treat for anyone, familiar or not". Reviewing Ulvang's short-notice performance at the

Enmore Theatre The Enmore Theatre is a theatre and entertainment venue in Enmore, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1908. It is located at 118–132 Enmore Road in Newtown, in the inner west of Sydney's suburbs. It was first opened in 1912 as a ph ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, ''The AU review'' author Carine Nilma wrote: "For a very short-notice stint filling in, Ulvang managed to literally win over the entire room after playing for about half an hour". Folk/rock musician Paul De Haven described Ulvang's ''American Boredom'' as the best album of 2018 from the Denver music scene. In a review of a concert by ''The Lumineers'', ''

Lexington Herald-Leader The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second larg ...

'' writer Walter Tunis called Ulvang the "MVP of the show" and labeled him "resourceful" for his ability to rapidly change instruments during performances. Ulvang has been praised for his adeptness at playing keyboard and has been seen playing it with his feet on multiple occasions.

Personal life

Ulvang was born in Fort Collins and lived in Loveland. As of 2022, he is married to musician Dorota Szuta, with whom he plays in the band Heavy Gus.

Discography

Solo discography

The Dovekins

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulvang, Stelth Living people American folk rock musicians Year of birth missing (living people)