The Belly Up scored a coup, booking Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real for two sold out shows. The band’s latest album A Few Stars Apart spent six non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the Americana Albums chart since its debut this past June. Yes, Lukas is the son of Willie (as seemingly evidenced by the former’s guitar strap leather tooled with “Son”). Having spent a seeming lifetime on the road, Lukas has honed well his stage chops.
“Four Letter Word” was the first rousing sing along, dropped early in the set. My favorite song of the evening was “(Forget About) Georgia.” The song breaks the fourth wall and inverts the Ray Charles classic “Georgia On My Mind.” Also notable was “Die Alone,” in which Lukas solidly assures us he won’t do so.
The set list included a nice balance from the new album (including stand outs “Perennial Bloom (Back To You)” and “Throwin’ Away Your Love”), as well as selections from his prior releases.
POTR is a sterling band, comprised of Lukas (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano), Anthony LoGerfo (drums, percussion, tambourine), Corey McCormick (bass guitar, upright bass, Mellotron, vocals), Tato Melgar (percussion) and Logan Metz (piano, Wurlitzer, B3 organ, lap steel, banjo, Mellotron, vocals). Rarely have I seen the rest of the band mouthing the lyrics so consistently. Metz was the most versatile, shifting instrument duties often.
After a warm up show at the venerable Pappy & Harriet’s, Lukas brought POTR to the Belly Up for the band’s tour opening shows. It was a well-oiled performance, with the band moving freely as Lukas amped-up his guitar solos.
Additional tour dates available here.
Photos by Brad Auerbach
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