Lukas Nelson is the son of country singer-songwriter Willie Nelson and his current wife Annie D’Angelo. Lukas was born in Austin, Texas but grew up in Maui, Hawaii. He learned guitar and had a talent for singing, which he pursued in order to spend more time with his famous father. He moved to Los Angeles in 2007 to attend Loyola Marymount University, but soon dropped out of college to pursue a music career full time. In October 2008 he formed his band The Promise of the Real.
During their early years the band performed in various SoCal venues and their music, according to AllMusic, the band self-described as “cowboy hippie surf rock.” Since that time he and his band have accompanied Willie Nelson on tour, and have performed as Neil Young’s backup band. Despite the pedigree and promotion, Lukas and his band has not drawn considerable attention nor reached stardom, but that seems to be changing as he approaches his tenth year of performing.
Lukas Nelson’s music has matured over the years, and in 2016 he began to show his talent as a powerful singer-songwriter, drawing from a wide range of musical influences from the Country Outlaw musicians to Jimi Hendrix to Eric Clapton to Neil Young to the Allman Brothers Band, among others. WXPN radio just designated Lukas Nelson and The Promise of the Real band as artist to watch for November 2017. Their new self-titled album was released this past summer on Fantasy Records.
In the performance below the acoustic venue demonstrates the power of his songwriting and the powerful emotions that he elicits in connecting with the subject matter of his songs. His voice is very reminiscent of his father’s, but with a fullness and deepness of its own.
Life, Project Management, and Everything 