Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real

Lukas Nelson carved his own path as an unpredictable Americana singer-songwriter who traverses the divide separating rock from country, much like his father Willie before him. Equipped with a reedy yet powerful voice that recalls his dad, he also commands attention as a forceful guitarist whose abilities receive full display through the group Promise of the Real. The quintet rose during the mid-2010s after Neil Young tapped them to function as his touring and recording unit. Young’s politically charged 2015 album The Monsanto Years thrust Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real into wider recognition, leading the musicians to sign with Fantasy and deliver their self-titled 2017 release. Although that project arrived at number two on Billboard’s Country Album charts, the 2019 follow-up Turn Off the News (Build a Garden) and 2021’s A Few Stars Apart confirmed that Nelson and his band operated as present-day counterculture figures equally at home with country ballads, rock jams, airy pop, and unhurried grooves. Nelson further solidified his country standing via the 2023 album Sticks and Stones.

He entered the music world early by joining his father, country legend Willie Nelson, on tour. After moving from Paia, Hawaii in 2007 to study in Los Angeles, Nelson encountered drummer Anthony LoGerfo at a Neil Young show; the pair soon began collaborating and, by late 2008, had added bassist Merlyn Kelly and percussionist Tato Melgar to establish Promise of the Real. They promptly issued the live EP Live Beginnings for sale at performances and were already touring extensively by early 2009, including opening slots for Willie Nelson and B.B. King. Blending blues, reggae, roots, and straight-ahead American rock, they unveiled their initial studio effort, the Brando’s Paradise Sessions EP, whose cover art came from Lukas’s younger brother Micah Nelson; Micah’s peace-sign imagery soon defined the band’s visual identity and he began appearing onstage to paint during sets.

Before their self-titled debut LP, Kelly departed and was ultimately succeeded by bassist Corey McCormick following interim players. The album broadened their multi-genre approach and featured a guest vocal from Willie Nelson on “Sound of Your Memory.” Emulating his peripatetic father, the group favored constant road work, completing more than 200 shows in 2011 that encompassed major festivals plus appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman. Their second LP, Wasted, surfaced in 2012 while the heavy touring continued, now including headline dates and support runs for John Fogerty. In early 2015 the band, along with Micah, was announced as Neil Young’s backing unit for his forthcoming record; the resulting politically charged The Monsanto Years appeared that June and was later captured on the 2016 live set Earth. Shortly before Earth’s summer arrival, Promise of the Real released their third album, Something Real, which was followed in August 2017 by Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real.

The latter received substantial promotion that propelled it to number two on Billboard’s Country Album charts. The band’s visibility climbed further in 2018 through film work: Promise of the Real portrayed themselves in Neil Young’s Paradox, directed by Daryl Hannah, and contributed to its soundtrack, while their larger contribution came via Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born, which included songs Nelson co-wrote with Lady Gaga and featured the group as Cooper’s onstage band. These projects preceded the June 2019 Concord release Turn Off the News (Build a Garden), the first album by the band to reach the Billboard 200, where it peaked at 151. Naked Garden, a set of alternate takes and outtakes from those sessions, followed in March 2020.

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real reemerged in June 2021 with A Few Stars Apart, produced by Dave Cobb. During summer 2022 Neil Young issued Noise and Flowers, documenting his 2019 European dates backed by Promise of the Real. Lukas Nelson and the band self-produced their 2023 album Sticks and Stones, returning to their loose country-rock foundation.