LEVITATION2015 is happening May 8-10 at Carson Creek Ranch in Austin!
We’ll be announcing a 2nd round of lineup additions in February! Who do you want to see most on the next wave of artist announcements?”
Lobby for Insects vs Robots:
via email at info@austinpsychfest.com.
Get tickets, passes, camping info here:
https://austinpsychfest.frontgatetickets.com/
www.aspentimes.com
by: A. Travers
Lukas Nelson has made a case for himself as an honorary Aspenite over the past five years.
Soon after forming his band, Promise of the Real, in 2009, Nelson started playing Aspen a handful of times a year, building local buzz with swaggering, good-time rock shows punctuated by Nelson’s crowd-pleasing guitar theatrics.
As he’s returned seasonally, his band’s national profile — and reputation for raucous stage shows — has risen, with three albums and hundreds of live shows. He counts Belly Up Aspen owner Michael Goldberg and the club’s crew as some of Promise of the Real’s earliest champions in the music business.
“Michael’s a good friend of mine, and I consider him a mentor,” Nelson said recently from his home in Hawaii. “I can’t wait to get back there. It’s really like a family reunion.”
Now 25, Nelson is the son of a legend with a seemingly inescapable shadow — Willie Nelson. And while the twang in Nelson’s voice is reminiscent of his father’s, it’s getting easier to see him as his own musical animal as he blazes his own trail with Promise of the Real. He counts his father as his biggest influence, but his live performances are often more comparable to Stevie Ray Vaughan or Jimi Hendrix (he memorably covered Hendrix’s “Pali Gap”on Promise of the Real’s self-titled debut album).
Two songs the band released in recent months — “Little Girl,” on the “Dumb and Dumber To” soundtrack, and the single “Find Yourself” — showcased a mellower side of Nelson. “Little Girl” has a reggae feel to it. “Find Yourself” is laid back and R&B inspired.
But Nelson isn’t losing his edge. He and his quartet recorded an album, titled “Love Yourself,” that included those and other less aggressive tracks, but then scrapped it. They recently laid down 14 new songs in a recording session in San Francisco, which they plan to release next year instead.
“The record we’re putting out in the next few months will be full-on rock and roll,” he said. “There may be a few vibey ones like that on it, but it’s mostly just straight, guitar-heavy rock. It’s pretty fun.”
The band — rounded out by Nelson’s childhood friend and percussionist Tato Melgar, drummer Anthony LoGerfo and bassist Corey McCormick — has made its rollicking concerts its calling card. And they decided they needed to make songs that are built to play live, Nelson said.
“Those songs are much better and more fun to play live,” he said. “We want to be able to tour and rock and roll when we play.”
Their hard-touring, road warrior approach, he said, has helped the band continue to improve and hone its sound.
“It’s become more of a solid band,” he said. “Our telepathy is growing stronger every show that we do.”
“Coming in hot in the cold land of Salt Lake City . Thanks everyone who helped sell out the show . Stoked our road manger Red Fallon is back on the road with us.” — Anthony Logerfo
http://www.realvail.com
Opening day Friday, Nov. 21 is just around the corner at Vail Mountain,, and the resort announced Monday the entertainment for the signature early-season celebration, Vail Snow Daze. This year the resort’s annual festival to kick off the winter season will take place over two weekends, Dec. 12-14 and 19-21, and the lineup will include free concerts from Lukas Nelson and The Wallflowers on Saturday, Dec. 13, and 10,000 Maniacs and Rusted Root on Saturday, Dec. 20.
On Saturday, Dec. 13 Bud Light presents Lukas Nelson and The Wallflowers at Solaris in the heart of Vail Village. Lukas Nelson, American rocker and son of Willie Nelson, and his band P.O.T.R. (Promise of the Real) will get the show started. Nelson and his band have played with the likes of Neil Young, John Fogerty, Bob Weir, B.B. King, and Bob Dylan.“We’re thrilled to announce the entertainment lineup for Vail Snow Daze and get our guests as eager about the start of the 2014-2015 winter season as we are,” said Davy Ratchford, director of marketing at Vail Mountain. “Early season is such a great time to visit the resort. There is a palpable energy in the air when guests return to Vail and get back on the snow for the first time, and what better way to celebrate the kick-off of winter than with free concerts at Vail Snow Daze.”
The Wallflowers will close out the first evening of free concerts at Vail Snow Daze. Fronted by co-founder Jakob Dylan, the Los Angeles-based alternative rock band are now in their 25th year. Over the course of their career The Wallflowers have released six studio albums including hits such as “One Headlight” and “6th Avenue Heartache,” sold more than seven million records worldwide, and have taken home several Grammys.
The following weekend on Saturday, Dec. 20 Pepsi presents live performances from 10,000 Maniacs followed by the eclectic musical powerhouse, Rusted Root.
Kicking off the evening of free live music is the classic, alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Throughout their 30-year collaboration, the 10,000 Maniacs have sold more than nine million albums and helped define college rock, creating the first wave of alternative rock bands and what became known as the alternative rock format on FM radio.
The powerhouse ensemble, Rusted Root, will cap off the Snow Daze celebration with a sweat-inducing and hypnotic live performance. With eight albums under their belt, over three million records sold worldwide and countless nights on the road, Rusted Root transcends age, generations, cultures and musical styles. The band has played and toured alongside Santana, Dave Matthews Band, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Grateful Dead to name a few.
All Vail Snow Daze concerts are free of charge and will be held at Solaris in the heart of Vail Village. Doors open at 5 p.m. and shows start at 5:30 p.m. each night. The schedule of activities for Vail Snow Daze 2015 will also include the return of the sponsor expo village and gear demos at the base of Gondola One, as well as après and after-dark parties in the Town of Vail.
Vail Snow Daze is presented by Vail Mountain, Pepsi, Bud Light, and the Town of Vail, and sponsored in part by Helly Hansen, GoPro, Mountain Living, Liberty Skis, Colorado Mountain Express, Vail Daily and KZYR.
For more information on Vail Snow Daze, including the full schedule of events, visitwww.vail.com/snowdaze. For more information about Vail Mountain visit www.vail.com or call (970) SKI-VAIL (754-8245).
Lukas Nelson, and Promise of the Real, with Micah Nelson, at Harvest the Hope Concert, Neligh, NE (9/27/14)
Sorry for the poor quality.
http://www.mercurynews.com
by: Jim Harrington
We’re spotlighting some of the most intriguing acts performing at the 14th annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, which continues through Oct. 5 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. In this edition, we highlight Lake Street Dive and Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real.
photo and story: Bob Hakins
Folsom LIVE
Why is this band not one the biggest acts in showbiz?
They have the songs,
the good looking front man
and they put the “show” in showbiz.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldmanwithacamera/sets/72157647444047190/
Lukas Autry Nelson, Anthony LoGerfo, Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real and Cory McCormick at Folsom LIVE.
www.goupstate.com
by: Leena Dbouk
For Lukas Nelson, following in his father’s footsteps seemed almost natural.Facts
Want to go?
Who: Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
When: 9:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Blue Ridge BBQ and Music Festival main stage, Harmon Field, Tryon, N.C.
Tickets: $8
Info: 828-859-7427 orwww.blueridgebbqfestival.com
From a young age, Nelson was exposed to all sorts of terrific music courtesy of his father, who also introduced him first-hand to some of the world’s most famous musicians. At this point, it’s worth noting that his dad is the legendary Willie Nelson.
So imagine the soulful voice of Willie Nelson mixed with the rock music of Tom Petty and Neil Young and the jazz of Django Reinhardt, and you’ll get an idea of the sound created by Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real.
Lukas Nelson and POTR will perform at 9:30 p.m. Saturday on the main stage of the Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival in Tryon, N.C.
The peculiar name of Lukas Nelson’s band came from listening to and being inspired by the music of Young.
“The feelings and inspiration we got from his music is what led us to the name Promise of the Real,” Nelson said. “Neil is authentic. I love the concept of being real rather than perfect.
“People in the music industry are so focused on being perfect; they pay tons of money to sound perfect. Everyone has a dark and a light side, (and) real music is like that. It’s not perfect.”
Much of Lukas Nelson’s music focuses on the authentic. Everything from the instrumentation to the lyrics is simple and intended to move people to thought and experience.
“There are so many variables in a song,” he said. “I write about what I’m feeling, thinking or experiencing. It takes me a half an hour to write a song. I try not to overthink it. I just let it happen.”
Nelson attributes much of who he is today to his father.
Willie Nelson “is the biggest musical influence, not only musically, but also as a person,” he said. “He lives his life in a good way, if there can be a good way.”
Despite having a famous father, Lukas Nelson has made his own way through the music industry. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t look to his dad as a source of inspiration and admiration.
“I admire Dad’s ability to engage and connect to the audience,” Lukas Nelson said. “He really relates to them through his stage presence and his writing as well. There’s a lot to appreciate about him. He speaks to people on so many levels.”
After dropping out of college and being inspired by the life of the Buddha, Lukas Nelson left the comfortable life he had known as Willie Nelson’s son to experience the life of a man who had nothing but his friends, his car and the clothes on his back.
“I see parallels between everyone and the Buddha and Christ,” Lukas Nelson said. “They were both teaching against this separatist idea. You know Christ called people to follow the kingdom of heaven, not him. Leaving everything behind hasn’t really changed me.
“But it has made me more aware that things are the way they’re supposed to be and to accept that without trying to make everything right. Good and evil will always exist together; you can’t have one without the other. If people accept that, there would be a lot less anxiety.”
Music has always been Lukas Nelson’s life from the moment he was born to the time a guitar was put into his hand. But, while speaking from a golf course, he said that sports would be his other career path if not for music.
“I was on the swim team as a kid. I was pretty good at freestyle, and I loved butterfly,” Lukas Nelson said. “I wanted to go into the Olympics. I also played on the soccer team. I guess I would’ve been an athlete of some sort. Music and sports aren’t polar opposites. They’re very similar; they both have a rhythm.
“At the end of the day, music is something that I do. Music is the world. We are all a collection of vibrating atoms that emit a frequency.”
beautiful photograph taken by Jim Eckenrode, stylishly framed by Guthrie Thomas, of www.gtpicks.com.
Earlier this year, Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real opened up at the Fox for Les Claypool. Now, the band is back headlining their own show tomorrow Sunday. If you can get to Boulder by tomorrow, come see the band.
Posters all over town!
If you can’t make a Colorado show, keep in touch with the band through their website:
www.promiseofthereal.com.
www.PromiseoftheReal.com
photo: Jim Eckenrode
photo: Arthur VanRooy
March 23, 2014
Knotty Pine
Victor, Idaho
Night 1
“Victor rocked so hard we added a second night on 3/24/14. Lets do it all over again.!! — Lukas Nelson
www.Pettyfest.com
“My Independence calls me
from a pay phone far away
He says, listen, man I’m worried,
you ain’t never been this way”
