Lukas Nelson is up for the same Grammy as his dad

The younger singer says his ‘American Romance’ is about the art of songwriting.

- MIKAEL WOOD MUSIC CRITIC

WILLIE NELSON, left, and Lukas Nelson sing at Farm Aid in 2018. Both have works nominated in the Grammys' traditional country album category.

(TAYLOR HILL Getty Images)

Lukas Nelson is sitting on his tour bus behind the Fonda Theatre on a recent evening as he awaits a takeout bag with dinner inside it.

In a few hours, the 36-year-old singer and songwriter will take the stage for a show behind this year’s “American Romance,” his first solo LP after a decade and a half fronting his band Promise of the Real. It’s a handsome and philosophical set of tunes about life, love and the endless road that Nelson cut just about a mile away from the Fonda at Hollywood’s Sunset Sound. And now it’s nominated for a Grammy Award in the traditional country album category.

“American Romance” was a family ish affair: Nelson, whose father is Willie Nelson, made it with his old friend Shooter Jennings, whose father was Willie’s frequent collaborator Waylon Jennings. Which makes it all the more amusing that Lukas’ record is nominated against Willie’s “Oh What a Beautiful World” for that Grammy.

“‘Against’ is a strong word,” Lukas says. “‘Alongside’ is better.” Dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and a white ballcap emblazoned with the Texas flag, he grins as he leans over a small dining table. “I mean, the Nelsons have a 40% chance of winning, which is pretty good.”

According to Jennings, “American Romance” shows off the “crazy lyrical depth” of Lukas’ songwriting. “I compare my stuff to his, and I’m like a little kid with toy blocks,” says the musician and producer, who's also nominated against himself at the Grammys with a second traditional country album nod for “Dollar a Day” by Charley Crockett. Adds Jennings with a laugh: “I think I might have to vote for Willie.”

Why’d you cut your hair?

I was exercising a lot, and it was in my face all the time, getting all knotted up.