lukas-nelson1Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real

Lukas Nelson earned his first songwriting credit at the age of 11, when he contributed "You Were It" to an album released by his father, country legend Willie Nelson. He's been pursuing music ever since. Now the skilled guitarist and singer fronts his own band, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, which also features bassist Corey McCormick, drummer Anthony LoGerfo and percussionist Tato Melgar. The rock/blues/jam quartet released a self-titled debut LP in 2010, leading to appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "The Late Show with David Letterman," and high-profile festival slots such as Farm Aid.

"The worst road experience was this one time we went to Denver. We played ... I will not name the club. There was this unnamed guy -- we'll call him Jerry -- and he was a promoter. Jerry was a son of a bitch. ... My brother (Micah Nelson) has a band called The Reflectacles, and they had driven from California in just a car for that one show. It took them hours and hours. They were supposed to play right before us. So this promoter puts out this flier, and we see it right when we get to the show. He had been promoting it as, 'COME DRINK AND SMOKE WITH WILLIE NELSON'S KIDS!' It was super, super tacky. My brother was not even of age (to legally drink). It was just so bad. The sound was horrible. And (Jerry) had this girlfriend of his, and he put her band in front of my brother's band. So we got super pissed at him. ... The problem was just the complete lack of class. ... The sound sucked. I ended up sitting down on the stage (then) I left. I just walked off the stage."

— Lukas Nelson, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real