Lukas Nelson returning to Cedar Rapids with his own band

When Lukas Nelson and his band Promise of the Real (POTR) recorded “Sticks and Stones,” the outfit’s eighth studio album, there was a twofold purpose — to create songs that would be just as easy to play live and to enable Nelson to tap into his country music roots.

The finished outcome has already yielded musical fruit.

“I wanted to write an album that featured a lot of songs that I’d be happy to play live, which I think I accomplished,” Nelson explained. “The whole record is great to be able to put into the live set and it’s a beautiful thing. We recently played in Kansas City, and the shows were able to be completely different and reworked, and we were still able to play different sets.

“There were a lot of the same songs, but we had a lot of alternates. There was the same energy with different songs, so we were able to give the audience something different, which is really nice. It’s nice to have a Set A or a Set B so if you’re playing one place, you have options. That was really the goal — to bring more people to the shows and make sure people have songs to sing along to and recognize. Hopefully this record does that.”

Recorded over the span of three to four days in 2022, the dozen songs that make up “Sticks and Stones” are a self-described batch of “country soul funk” infused with a thick sense of humor.

There’s plenty to like, ranging from the Lainey Wilson hookup duet “More Than Friends” that finds the duo being the equivalent of a honky-tonk Elton John and Kiki Dee, to “Wrong House,” a double-time shuffle tale of someone coming off a psychedelic trip and winding up in a neighbor’s home.

Elsewhere, Nelson and POTR toss in a kitchen’s sink worth of rollicking piano runs, honking guitar riffs and a gospel chorus into “Every Time I Drink,” which sets the mood for the narrator’s attempt to navigate heartbreak. The twangiest jam is “Icarus,” a call-and-response between Nelson’s vocals and some Don Rich-flavored riffing.

It’s all the more impressive given that “Sticks and Stones” is Nelson’s maiden voyage at producing, something he’d only previously done while working with Bradley Cooper on the 2018 remake of “A Star is Born,” a film project where Nelson was hired as an authenticity consultant (more on that later).

“This is the first time I’ve taken the reins with the band and worked on the music,” Nelson said. “I think it’s great because it comes more purely to who we are and we’re able to recreate it live, which is the whole point.”

In Cedar Rapids

While Nelson and POTR have only been recording and touring for 15 years, the musical apprenticeship they’ve served starts with Willie Nelson being the 35-year-old musician’s father. Lukas Nelson performed with his father at the McGrath Amphitheatre in downtown Cedar Rapids on May 17, 2023.

Rewind to June 2010, and Lukas and his own band performed at the BBQ Roundup. The Gazette’s concert review admonished: “Eastern Iowans — you blew it. Too few of you came out to see one of the most exciting young performers with an impeccable pedigree, standing at the threshold of success.”

Now you have the chance to make up for that, with the band’s return to Cedar Rapids on Sunday night, opening for Whiskey Myers in the Alliant Energy PowerHouse arena.

The road beckons Nelson and his crew. And given how he and POTR hit all the marks of having the studio material translate to the stage, he promises fans won’t be disappointed when they come out to see the boys play.

“Fans can expect a show that’s a journey and hopefully a really joyful experience with lots of energy and excitement,” Nelson said.

Road to success

Lukas Nelson and his crew have succeeded in forging their own path. While hitting the road with the “Red Headed Stranger” early-on got the ball rolling, Nelson and POTR spent plenty of time sharing stages with Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard and even spent several years serving as Neil Young’s backup band for a series of albums and tours.

Suffice it to say, Nelson sopped up whatever wisdom he could from these experiences.

“It was a sort of great master-class in learning how to be a band,” he said. “What’s great about it is that the experiences we’ve had with the people we’ve played with before we can bring to our generation. I’m 35 years old, so those guys are a lot older than me. I play to a different crowd right now.”

When pushed to see what insights he may have picked up from his father, Nelson is quick to point out that he’s a musical sponge regardless of who he may be around.

“I watch everybody that I learn from,” he said. “Whether they’re young guys like Tyler Childers, Zach Bryan, I watch those guys. I watch Sturgill (Simpson) and Nathaniel Rateliff. I watch Norah Jones and I watch Taylor Swift or Adele. These people I watch.”

‘A Star is Born’

Having first picked up a guitar when he was about 11, Nelson’s musical passion and curiosity served him well and led to opportunities like dipping his toes into the moviemaking world with Cooper. Part of his responsibilities as an authenticity consultant led to Nelson co-producing the music, co-writing songs with Lady Gaga and appearing with POTR in “A Star Is Born” as Cooper’s band. In addition to Nelson winning a BAFTA Award for Best Original Music and a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, it’s an experience the young singer/songwriter wouldn’t mind having again.

“It was great working with Bradley and writing songs for the film,” he said. “I was working with him in terms of helping him sing and look the part — helping him look like he was playing the guitar the right way and making sure it seemed authentic, which I think he did a great job doing. It was great and I’d be happy to do more (of that) in the future.”