Formation and Early Releases (2008-2012)

In 2007, Lukas Nelson (Willie Nelson's son) moved from Paia, Hawaii to Los Angeles in 2007 to attend Loyola Marymount University. He met musician Anthony LoGerfo at a Neil Young rock concert in 2008, and their friendship developed through shared interests in rock music and surfing. Nelson left the university and with LoGerfo eventually launched Promise of the Real with band members Tato Melgar and bassist Merlyn Kelly.^[2] The band's name was inspired by the lyric "Some get stoned, some get strange, but sooner or later it all gets real" from the Neil Young song Walk On.^[3]

In autumn 2008, the band released the EP Live Beginnings, recorded at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, California^[4] They began touring, playing upwards of 300 shows over the next two years. By January 2009, they were on the road with Willie Nelson, a trip that included five nights of shows at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Later that year, they shared the stage with B. B. King and appeared at festivals including the Waterfront Blues Festival and the Telluride Brews and Blues Festival.^[5] During breaks from touring, they recorded and released the EP Brando's Paradise Sessions. The five track release featured bassist John Avila in place of their original bassist, Merlyn Kelly, who was no longer with the band. The album cover is a painting by Nelson's younger brother, Micah Nelson, an artist, composer and musician whose artwork appears on several of the band's other albums as well.^[4]

In March 2010, they released their first studio album, Promise of the Real, recorded at the Pedernales Recording Studio in Austin, Texas. The 12-track album of original music also includes three cover tracks: Peaceful Solution (Willie Nelson), Pali Gap/Hey Baby (Jimi Hendrix) and L.A.(Neil Young). An interview with LoGerfo revealed that the cover art for the album was created by album engineer Steve Chadie's 6-year-old daughter.^[6] Corey McCormick, their new bassist replacing Kelley, appeared on the album having joined the band in 2009. McCormick had previously been a bassist with musician Chris Cornell.^[7]

In 2012, the band released two albums, Wasted (studio) and Live Endings, both on the Tone Tide label. Neil Young has greatly influenced the band, in both their music style and production values, and at his suggestion, the studio recording (Wasted) was produced using analog rather than digital format. Nelson believes doing so “added a lot of magnetism and energy [and] sounds more like what you get when you see us perform.”^[8] Wasted co-producer, Jim "Moose" Brown (musician/songwriter/producer), enhanced the complexity of the music by bringing in additional instrumentation including steel guitar, harmonica, Dobro guitar, Wurtlitzer piano, and Hammond B3 organ.^[9]

Over the next two years, the band worked a relentless road schedule, performing an average of 250 shows each year. ^[10] and taking advantage of every opportunity to increase their national exposure. In May 2012, they performed a cover of Pearl Jam's "Just Breathe" live on Willie's Roadhouse channel on Sirius XM, and in the following month, they appeared on Bob Weir's TRI Studios broadcast on Yahoo Music.^[11] In the fall of that year, they backed John Fogerty on his coast-to-coast tour of Canada,^[12] and continued to open shows for Willie Nelson.^[11] They consistently performed at the annually televised Farm Aid fundraising concerts, and by 2013, the band had appeared on a number of major late night talk shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and The Late Show with David Letterman.^[13]

The band completed their 2014 tour and moved into an old Victorian mansion, the William Westerfield House, a historic landmark in San Francisco. They found the space suitable for their recording studio, finding it to be an “amazing and varied sonic environment, while its history and location provided the vibe.”^[14] The sessions at the mansion wrapped up, but the album release was put off until 2016. This deliberate delay allowed them to pursue an extensive new venture with their rocker idol, Neil Young.^[15]

Backing and Collaborations with Neil Young (2015-2019)

In January 2015, Neil Young and the band recorded the concept album The Monsanto Years. The album includes "A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee Shop" which targets Starbucks and its use of genetically modified food. The album recording and live rehearsals were filmed by Don Hannah in April 2015 for a film also entitled The Monsanto Years.^[16]

On June 17, 2016, the live album Earth was released. It was recorded during the Rebel Content Tour in 2015 and featured live performances augmented by studio overdubs and nature and animal sounds.

On November 3, 2017, Young announced a new album with Promise of the Real. The album, entitled The Visitor, was released December 1 and included a song called "Already Great".^[17]

The album Paradox (2018) is the soundtrack to Daryl Hannah's film Paradox released on March 23, 2018.^[18]

Noise & Flowers is a live album of selected songs from Young's tour of Europe in 2019, which was released on August 5, 2022.^[19] The tour commenced just two weeks after the passing of Young's long time manager and friend Elliot Roberts and served as a memorial to their 50 plus years of collaboration.^[20][21]

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real (2017)

The band signed with Fantasy Records and released the self-titled album Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real on August 25, 2017.^[22] The album hit No. 1 on the Americana Radio Chart the week of November 10, 2017^[23] Lady Gaga, with whom Nelson was collaborating on A Star Is Born, provided backing vocals on two tracks. The album earned the band its first Americana Music Awards nomination for Duo/Group of the Year.^[24]

Willie Nelson & The Boys (Willie's Stash, Vol. 2) (2017)

On October 20, 2017, Legacy Recordings released "Willie Nelson and the Boys (Willie's Stash, Vol. 2)", a family collaboration showcasing Willie, Lukas, and Micah performing a selection of American country music classics, including seven penned by Hank Williams, Sr.^[25]

A Star Is Born (2018)

A Star Is Born, directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Cooper and Lady Gaga, was released in October 2018.^[26] Nelson co-produced the music for the film, writing songs with Gaga, after being hired as an authenticity consultant to Cooper. Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real appear in the film as Cooper's band. Nelson won a BAFTA Award for Best Original Music and Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for his work.^[27]

Turn Off The News (Build A Garden) (2019)

Turn Off the News (Build a Garden) marked the band's fifth studio album release and second studio album release for Fantasy Records. The album was released on June 14, 2019,^[28] peaking at No. 19 on Billboard's US Top Country Albums chart ^[29] and 31 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart.^[30]

Naked Garden (2020)

On March 27, 2020, the band released Naked Garden, a 15-track collection that is a companion piece to 2019's Turn Off the News (Build a Garden).^[31][32] Naked Garden includes previously unreleased versions and alternate takes of songs that were recorded during the Turn Off The News (Build A Garden) sessions at Shangri-La and Village Studios.^[32]

A Few Stars Apart (2021)

On April 28, 2021, the band announced their next studio album release on Fantasy Records, A Few Stars Apart, accompanied by the first single released from the album, "Perennial Bloom (Back To You)". Available June 11, 2021, the album was recorded at RCA Studio A in Nashville and Produced by Dave Cobb.^[33]

Studio albums

Collaborations

EPs

Live recordings

Other appearances

Music videos