Don’t pack away those low back chairs and picnic gear just yet. We still have plenty of rockin’ and honky tonkin’ left to do this summer, especially on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 when Lukas Nelson plays Red Butte Garden. Nelson is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter whose musical style blends boot-stomping country with soulful blues to create a unique and exciting Americana sound. His voice quality is eerily similar to his famous father, Willie Nelson, but he’s built his own style with a growing catalog of great songs (though when he covers one of his dad’s classics that’s pretty awesome too.)
Lukas Nelson and his band Promise of the Real (POTR) formed in Los Angeles in 2008 and have amassed a huge fan following. They’ve recorded eight studio albums and two live records. Sadly, the band recently announced that POTR would be taking a hiatus. Nelson will continue to write, record, and tour on his own. We get to be among the first to see Nelson with his newly formed backing band.
Nelson received his musical education playing and recording with Neil Young and touring for many years in his father’s family band. The influence of those two legends blends nicely into his original work. Nelson adds fresh, bluesy pop to his country and folk rock foundations to create remarkable songs like “Find Yourself.” With “Every Time I Drink,” he’s not afraid to let loose his honky-tonk roots or electrify his rock guitar chops on “Pali Gap.” A highlight from his critically-acclaimed 2023 release Sticks and Stones is “Alcohallelujah.” The song begins with a bit of tongue-in-cheek gospel before launching into a bluesy slide guitar riff. It’s a fine drinking song with undertones of the Austin outlaw country sound his dad made famous.
Fun fact: Nelson won a Grammy Award and a BAFTA (the British equivalent of an Oscar) for his work producing the soundtrack for the 2018 film A Star is Born.
This upcoming performance at Red Butte Garden isn’t my first Lukas Nelson concert and it won’t be my last. He’s a great performer with an ever increasing arsenal of hit records. Nelson will carry his family’s musical legacy deep into this century.
Opening the evening is Salt Lake City’s own firebrand activist, rocker, and KRCL DJ Talia Keys. Like Nelson, Keys can’t be boxed into any one particular genre. She moves effortlessly through rock to blues, soul to R&B. Whether she’s serving up a fresh funk original or reinterpreting vintage jams, Keys brings a great energy to each performance. Click here for a video of Keys’ haunting take on the classic “I Put A Spell On You.”
Tickets are still available, but don’t wait too long. It’s sure to sell out soon.
Who: Lukas Nelson w/ Talia Keys
What: Live in Concert
Where: Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre
When: Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Info and tickets: https://redbuttegarden.org/concerts/
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