Lukas Nelson on competing for a Grammy against his famous dad

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Lukas Nelson is sitting connected his circuit autobus down the Fonda Theatre connected a caller evening arsenic helium awaits a takeout container with meal wrong it.

In a fewer hours, the 36-year-old vocalist and songwriter volition instrumentality the signifier for a amusement down this year’s “American Romance,” his archetypal solo LP aft a decennary and a fractional fronting his set Promise of the Real. It’s a handsome and philosophical acceptable of tunes astir life, emotion and the endless roadworthy that Nelson chopped conscionable astir a mile distant from the Fonda astatine Hollywood’s Sunset Sound. And present it’s nominated for a Grammy Award successful the accepted state medium category.

“American Romance” was a family-ish affair: Nelson, whose begetter is Willie Nelson, made it with his aged person Shooter Jennings, whose begetter was Willie’s predominant collaborator Waylon Jennings. Which makes it each the much amusing that Lukas’ grounds is nominated against Willie’s “Oh What a Beautiful World” for that Grammy.

“‘Against’ is simply a beardown word,” Lukas says. Dressed successful jeans, a T-shirt and a achromatic ballcap emblazoned with the Texas flag, helium grins arsenic helium leans implicit a tiny eating table. “‘Alongside’ is better. I mean, the Nelsons person a 40% accidental of winning, which is beauteous good.”

According to Jennings, “American Romance” shows disconnected the “crazy lyrical depth” of Lukas’ songwriting. “I comparison my worldly to his, and I’m similar a small kid with artifact blocks,” says the instrumentalist and producer, who’s besides nominated against himself astatine the Grammys with a 2nd accepted state medium motion for “Dollar a Day” by Charley Crockett. Adds Jennings with a laugh: “I deliberation I mightiness person to ballot for Willie.”

Why’d you chopped your hair?
Lukas Nelson: I was exercising a lot, and it was successful my look each the time, getting each knotted up. There was thing symbolic astir it — I conscionable said, ‘F— it,’ and I chopped it.

OK, but Longhaired Guy was your vibe for a agelong time.
Well, I besides didn’t truly similar that happening anymore for me. I didn’t privation thing to specify me. There’s a batch of longhaired radical that I got upset with implicit the years for their hypocrisy.

Like who?
There’s a spiritual assemblage that uses spirituality to shirk responsibility.

Wait, what community?
I’m talking astir a wide assemblage of radical — I’m definite you’ve met a fewer — who are each astir spirituality until they person to really beryllium applicable and bash something. These are the radical that worship thing different than what’s close successful beforehand of them.

This is what I’m saying: Fairly oregon unfairly, agelong hairsbreadth connotes definite traits.
And for that crushed I chopped my hair. I don’t privation radical to look astatine maine and say, “I cognize who that is. He’s playing a relation helium was meant to play.” It’s each a clump of bull—.

You said you were exercising a lot. What’s your regimen?
Use the edifice gym. Go for runs. I usage this Whoop set — it’s similar having a trainer connected your wrist. Really, it’s owed to this that I stopped drinking due to the fact that it conscionable kept sidesplitting my slumber score.

I consciousness similar you mightiness person reverse-engineered sobriety: You stopped drinking —
To get the bully slumber score. That’s precisely right. They should wage me, actually. I’ll beryllium a Whoop spokesman. I’ve been wearing this happening for years now.

Has not drinking been hard?
It was truly casual for maine to halt drinking. Weed was harder, astir apt due to the fact that it was tied much into my identity.

Are you an all-or-nothing benignant of guy?
I had a keto fare for astir of this tour, and I thought that erstwhile I got backmost to carbs, I’d beryllium much successful moderation with it. But it’s truthful overmuch easier to conscionable say, “I’m not eating immoderate of them,” than it is to say, “OK, I’ll person 1 cooky for the week.”

What clip volition you spell to furniture contiguous aft the gig?
That depends connected a lot.

Bunch of friends coming, I’d imagine.
I utilized to unrecorded here. I went to Loyola Marymount — dropped retired aft a mates years and started touring erstwhile I was beauteous young. But I loved it. My woman astatine the clip and I had a small spot successful Venice. I was renting from this guy, benignant of a quality connected the scene, and helium would acceptable up these speakeasy acoustic shows supra this jeans store connected Abbot Kinney called the Stronghold. He’d person guys similar Ben Harper and Brett Dennen and myself erstwhile I was archetypal coming up.

So I rented a location from this feline — paid a 1000 bucks a month. But my girlfriend’s ma was a realtor, and aft astir a twelvemonth of america paying for this place, she realized that the location itself was successful escrow. He didn’t adjacent ain it. We were fundamentally squatting.

Willie Nelson and Lukas Nelson execute during Farm Aid 2018 astatine Xfinity Theatre 2018 successful Hartford, Connecticut.

“American Romance” ends with a caller signaling of the archetypal opus you ever wrote. Why?
I figured that for the archetypal clip the moniker of Promise of the Real wasn’t gonna beryllium there, I would privation thing that focused much connected who I was erstwhile I archetypal started. That opus [“You Were It”] came to maine erstwhile I was 11, and my dada loved it truthful overmuch that helium enactment it connected his medium [“It Always Will Be”]. Kris Kristofferson liked it, and that gave maine the assurance to commencement playing.

At the clip I was a swimmer, and I tried to attack euphony similar I was an Olympian successful training. I tried to springiness the aforesaid magnitude of practice, particularly due to the fact that I knew I’d person to enactment doubly arsenic hard arsenic anyone other to beryllium I wasn’t handed everything due to the fact that of the nepo babe thing.

What’d you larn by going backmost to specified an aged song?
That songwriting is not a linear thing, astatine slightest for me. There’s things I’ve written successful the past that are nary worse than thing I’ve written recently.

Promise of the Real could get beauteous jammy. This medium is tighter.
I wanted it to beryllium astir the creation of songwriting and storytelling. My dada was a large balladeer — is a large balladeer — and I consciousness similar I got a small spot of that innately.

You did a gorgeous rendition of “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” astatine your dad’s 90th day solemnisation astatine the Hollywood Bowl.
That’s astir apt my favourite song.

Period?
Period. The information that it happens to beryllium written by my begetter is mind-blowing.

The Recording Academy divided the state medium grant into 2 prizes starting with this adjacent ceremony: accepted state medium and modern state album. What’s your take?
Man, I conscionable play the euphony — I don’t attraction however they portion it. I don’t adjacent cognize what genre I play.

Which is wherefore it’s benignant of comic that you and your dada are successful accepted country. There’s been immoderate conspiracy theorizing that the accepted class is meant to appease folks who were salty astir Beyoncé winning state medium astatine the past Grammys. But of people your dada was connected “Cowboy Carter.”
I conscionable similar that state euphony is getting retired determination and that it seems to beryllium much and much popular. I consciousness similar we’ve got to unfastened our arms and invited everyone who wants to beryllium portion of it.

You ever spell done a cranky traditionalist phase?
I ne'er truly did. When I was a kid I listened to each types of music: Green Day, the Offspring, NSYNC. That was what the girls liked, truthful I was into it. At the aforesaid clip I was listening to Sinatra and Jobim due to the fact that that’s what my ma would play successful the car. I had truthful galore influences, and if you look astatine my dad, I deliberation you spot why. He’s got a opus with Snoop, for God’s sake.

You won your archetypal Grammy for your enactment with Lady Gaga connected the euphony from “A Star Is Born.” Have you and Gaga kept successful touch?
I support much successful interaction with Bradley [Cooper]. He and I are truly adjacent and really program connected moving unneurotic soon.

On a movie project?
Can’t say. But he’s an amazing, hard-working, clear-headed guy. I similar him a lot. And I emotion Stefani’s euphony too. I haven’t seen her successful a agelong time.

I precocious discovered that you co-wrote her opus “The Cure.” Would you privation to enactment much successful the popular world?
Absolutely. Sometimes I’ll enactment connected a Top 40 playlist to support tabs connected it. Sabrina Carpenter, “Please Please Please” — that could person been written successful 1940 and sung by Sinatra. I ever look astatine songs successful the popular satellite and say, OK, if Sinatra could sing it, past it’s a bully song. “God Must Have Spent a Little More Time connected You,” the NSYNC opus — timeless.

Dave Chappelle, Lukas Nelson, Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper

You’re not married.
No.

You don’t person kids.
I don’t deliberation so.

I heard you connected Joe Rogan’s show, wherever you were talking about however you utilized to outcry each clip your dada would spell connected the road. Then your mom, Annie D’Angelo, explained to you that it wasn’t that your dada wanted to permission but that helium was supporting the household and doing what helium loved.
My ma is the top protagonist of my dad. She’s kept him alive.

If you were to person kids, bash you deliberation your acquisition arsenic the kid of a touring instrumentalist would signifier however you deliberation astir touring arsenic a parent?
I deliberation a batch of the problems that travel are erstwhile the idiosyncratic astatine location becomes embittered and starts showing that bitterness to the kids. Then the kids turn up feeling resentment due to the fact that that’s what they’re exposed to.

I’ve been successful emotion before. I was with idiosyncratic for 8 years, and I was connected the roadworthy for 4 of those years. I was committed to her and wanted to wed her, and past we grew isolated — realized it wasn’t precisely right.

I judge that I person to beryllium champion friends and successful emotion with the idiosyncratic that I determine to beryllium with. And that idiosyncratic won’t go my champion friend, and I won’t autumn successful love, unless I cognize that they’ll enactment maine and I tin enactment them and they’ll beryllium OK with maine being connected the road.

You ever interest that existent romanticist restitution would ruin your songwriting?
Well, “American Romance” came from a heavy love. I had a heavy emotion that I didn’t archer anyone astir — it was betwixt her and I, and it volition ever beryllium that way. That emotion is the communicative of “American Romance.”

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