Lukas Nelson Learns Persistence From the Best: Neil Young, BB King … and, of Course, His Dad

Lukas Nelson has enjoyed considerable success with his band Promise of the Real in 2018. As he rides the ups and downs of the music industry, however, the younger Nelson (he's the son of Willie Nelson) says he learned from the best how to be persistent and keep playing, no matter what.

"I think we just wanna keep going for as long as we can, you know?" Nelson told The Boot before September's Americana Honors & Awards ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. "When we started the band, we just wanted to continue to go, like Willie does. He never stops."

Even aside from following in his dad's footsteps, Nelson has chosen for his mentors musicians known for perseverance and longevity: "Neil [Young] never stops. BB King never stops. Those are all people who are our mentors," he explains. "We're kind of just following in those footsteps, and playing out of our love for the music and the love we have for each other."

Nelson and Promise of the Real have found ample opportunity to watch Willie Nelson and other legendary performers in action. The band recently performed alongside the elder Nelson and a host of other country superstars during Farm Aid 2018, and at an October Grand Ole Opry salute to Ray Charles, Lukas Nelson appeared onstage to deliver a solo rendition of "Seven Spanish Angels," a hit that his dad recorded with the legendary crossover performer in 1984. Nelson has also embarked on new projects with his mentors in 2018, appearing in a Western film entitled Paradox, alongside his father Young, earlier in the year.

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