Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real brought a limited tour to the legendary Antone’s in Austin as part of their month-long 46th anniversary celebrations.
2020 saw Lukas Nelson off the road for what may have been the longest time in his entire life. Growing up with Willie Nelson as your father, it’s no wonder that road life has been the norm for him for so long. Putting his creativity to use during the unexpected downtime, he wrote and recorded his latest album, A Few Stars Apart, which was released on June 11. Eager to take to the new music out on the road, he, along with Promise of the Real, scheduled a brief four-date tour which included dates in Boulder, Chicago, and Nashville before wrapping at Antone’s in Austin on Saturday night.
With a capacity of only 400, it’s no wonder the tickets sold out so quickly. Fans were so eager to get the hottest ticket in town, some people were even willing to pay hugely inflated prices on the day for the $30 tickets. As the venue filled up, many had huge grins of excitement on their faces for what was the first concert they have seen in over a year.
The band strode onto the stage, opening the evening with “Start To Go.” The people in the packed venue immediately started to move around to the music as the band worked through the early part of the setlist. But it was “Fool Me Once” that really kicked the night into high gear. Of course, he couldn’t perform a show here without playing “Just Outside of Austin” which was warmly received by the audience.
There were two tracks from the new album included in the setlist, “More Than We Can Handle” and “Smile.” Both tracks went down well, with “Smile” seeing Lukas alone at the piano during the final encore of the evening, with the whole room appreciatively listening in silence. The rest of the band subsequently joined Lukas on the stage to perform a cover of Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” with the venue hopping and people joyfully dancing and reveling in the chance to spend an evening in the company of live musicians once again. After the last notes of the final song of the evening, “Something Real,” rang out most of the audience hung around to soak up the atmosphere for a few more minutes while draining the last of the drinks in their glass. It was a real pleasure to spend the evening in the company of Lukas and Promise of the Real for a night which we are sure will live long in the memory of those lucky enough to secure a ticket.
If you weren’t amongst the lucky few to secure tickets to these select dates, fear not. An extensive list of additional tour dates has already been announced from September through until mid-November covering most major cities across the US.
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