It’s not too often that a band makes a television appearance that people are still talking about years later. And when it does happen, it’s usually because something went wrong or someone raised eyebrows with something the band said or did.
None of that is true in the case of Future Islands, who appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman in 2014 and performed “Seasons (Waiting On You).” Their performance was so memorable and instantly iconic that we're still talking about it over ten years later. It even received the sort of 10th anniversary coverage usually reserved for actual news events.
“Seasons” is a great song, but the reason everyone was buzzing about this performance the next day (and still are all these years later) is Samuel Herring, the lead singer of Future Islands. It’s impossible to take your eyes off him! He clearly put everything he has into this performance. And for Herring, it comes naturally.
“I'm generally a humble person, but there are things that are things that I'm good at, and then there's things that I work hard at,” said Herring. “Performing on stage is just something that I've always just had a knack for. It's always enacted this visceral response in me. Like, I really take it on. I wanna believe, and I wanna feel.”
Herring and Future Islands will be “taking it on” at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines Monday, May 5, giving concert-goers the opportunity to experience their knack for performing in person. Herring also makes clear that the key to a good performance is a great audience.
“There's nothing without an audience. It's a symbiotic relationship,” said Herring. “I've always said you can have the best band in a room, but if the audience doesn't care, then it doesn't matter. And you can have the worst band in the world, but if the audience is wide open and just is feeling it, and wants something and is encouraging, and is passionate themselves, you can have the best show ever.”
Herring credits Future Islands’ roots in “DIY” culture for their drive and their performing abilities. “We come from that place where, you know, you have to make a mark because you don't know if you're gonna get these people in front of you again,” said Herring. “If you got ten people in front of you, you gotta try to hook them. You gotta get them, because the next time you come through, hopefully they'll bring their friends and then you gotta hook them. So it's always about trying to give an experience that people want again, and keeping people on the edge of their seats.”
“As long as people are coming back, then we're able to continue to make music,” said Herring. “So it's continuing to try to give that hook, but the passion is innate, and it's something that I was fortunately or unfortunately born with. For me, it's finding strength and weakness because the stage allows me to gain validation for my life. I wanna make a mark.”
Those who have seen Future Islands live can confirm the band leaves a mark. Iowa concert-goers have had several opportunities to catch them over the years, including at 80/35 and also the first ever Hinterland in 2015. If you’ve been to Hinterland, Herring’s story of the band arriving at the festival will sound familiar.
“I remember driving in, and it's just cornfield out there,” said Herring. “I feel like it was just a two-lane, one lane each way. And we were wondering how we were gonna get there, because of the traffic. And the guy just pulled off onto the shoulder and just took us all the way into the festival! And we're like, whoa, this is wild. It definitely had, like, a ‘Field of Dreams for indie rock’ vibe going on. But yeah, that festival was really fun.”
Still, Herring’s fondest memories of playing in Iowa are at a smaller stage: specifically, Wooly’s in downtown Des Moines.
“When I think of Des Moines, I think of Wooly’s,” said Herring. “That was just at a time that things were really taking off for us in a new way, like 2014-2015. Those are the kind of rooms that we rarely get to go to anymore, but at the time it was one of the rooms that we thrived in. I love a ‘rock box' — where it’s just you and just a big rectangle filled with people, that's what I always call it. A rock box! Yeah.”
“When we were a young band in our college town, those were the kind of rooms that, when we got to that level, it just felt like something's happening,” said Herring. “The first time we played Wooly’s, I don't know if it was sold out, but it had that feeling. And I think the shows you most remember are the first time you come to a place and realize that there are people there who actually care, and actually want to see you. You get it. It makes you feel really good. So yeah, Wooly’s is always on my mind.”
Tickets are still available for Monday night’s show at Hoyt Sherman Place, if you want to catch the band on a stage that isn’t quite a “rock box” but still offers an intimate concert experience. Future Islands will be on the road for much of 2025, and have also begun work on their 8th album, the follow-up to 2024’s People Who Aren’t There Anymore. That album is available on Bandcamp and streaming services, along with the rest of Future Islands’ music.
