There’s a version of the Lumineers story that ends about a decade ago, in the wake of the two-piece folk-rock band’s struggle to duplicate the pop success of its debut single. The platonic ideal of the stomp-clap sound also purveyed by Mumford & Sons and Of Monsters and Men, 2012’s Grammy-nominated “Ho Hey” made improbable stars of singer- guitarist Wesley Schultz and drummer Jeremiah Fraites, who had come up playing house shows and open mics and then suddenly found themselves on Top 40 radio amid the likes of Maroon 5 and Flo Rida.

But if the Lumineers have never returned to the upper reaches of the Hot 100, they’ve arguably achieved something better, quietly becoming one of rock’s top live acts while exerting a crucial influence on the next generation of acoustic singer- songwriters. In 2023, Zach Bryan recruited the duo for “Spotless,” a track from his chart-topping self- titled album. Last year, Noah Kahan brought Schultz and Fraites onstage during a gig at Boston’s Fenway Park. Then there’s Shaboozey, who has said the Lumineers helped inspire his smash hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”

“Zach has a tattoo of the ‘Cleopatra’ logo on his arm,” Fraites said recently, referring to the band’s 2016 LP. “And Noah, we were emailing once, and he said, ‘There’d be no Noah without the Lumineers.’ It’s kind of hard to wrap my head around.”

Schultz, 42, and Fraites, 39, recently released their fifth album, “Automatic,” which they’re supporting on the road this year.

This interview with Schultz has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: In 2013, “Ho Hey” peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top 40 radio chart.

A: I think it peaked at two … Because I was watching it, and I was like, I wonder if it’ll ever get to one? And it almost did. But it was at three for sure for at least one week (laughs).

Q: The songs ahead of it at that week were Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” and Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” Everyone talked at the time about the unlikeliness of “Ho Hey” becoming a hit. But looking back at what was around it on the chart really drives that home.

A: The narrative goes that when you have a big song, you must have designed the song to be big. Things aren’t a mistake, it’s not an accident, there are no Cinderellas. But listen to that song and tell me that was supposed to be a hit.

The essence of every interview we did at that time was: “You guys are doing really well. Please explain.” Kind of insulting. The scary part after that was you face a fork in the road: You can either do the thing where you try to make other hits that show you weren’t a one-hit wonder, or — like in our case — you just keep going and try to block it out.

They tried to make “Stubborn Love” a hit. They wanted to cut a bunch of the song — they said four minutes was too long. We were like, “What do you mean? What are you gonna change?”

Q: You ever wonder what would’ve happened if you’d agreed to the radio edit?

A: I’d love to run a simulation just to see. But here’s the trap: Let’s say you have two hits (in) the Top 40 format. Now you’ve created a standard by which your team is evaluating success in this very strange way. You notice what the format likes, you might start to subconsciously write to meet that format. Whereas the artists that last, they just do their own thing. It’s like Neil Young said: “When I was in the middle of the road, I aimed for the ditch.”

Q: The song “Automatic,” from the new album, has some interesting images: “Shooting stars/ Driving your electric cars/ Eating at the salad bars/ Praying for the rain.”

A: The original line was “Shooting stars/ Maybe take a trip to Mars.” I was thinking of Elon (Musk) — it wasn’t about him, but it was about how idealistic but also how dark things feel right now. It’s the best, most cutting-edge time to be alive, yet if you measured people’s happiness, most people would tell you how depressed they are. There’s that (John) Steinbeck quote about people viewing themselves as temporarily embarrassed millionaires — I’m more important than I am at my current station of life — and I feel like that’s come back. There’s a gluttony built into everything where if you’re not careful, you’re never satisfied.