Lukas Nelson recalls childhood memories of listening to Neil Young’s albums over and over again with his brother, Micah. The pair would delve into the rock icon’s vast catalog beyond Harvest and Decade, hitting some of Young’s deepest cuts off lesser-touted records, like Zuma and On the Beach.
As the Nelsons (Willie’s kids) got older, their appreciation for Young got stronger, and eventually inspired the electric roots rock group Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real. And bassist Corey McCormick and Lukas decided to start the band, whose name is based on a line in Young’s “Walk On,” while attending a Neil Young concert in Santa Barbara.
As POTR rehearse for an upcoming tour, lead guitarist/singer Lukas and multi-instrumentalist/artist Micah (a frequent POTR contributor) are living out a childhood fantasy as they build setlists flooded with some of Young’s greatest classics, including “Going Back,” “Southern Man” and “Ohio,” with the man himself.
“I just want to pinch myself,” Lukas says from the road, somewhere between Houston and Dallas.
Lukas and the Promise of the Real were recently tapped to back Young on his 36th studio record, the politically saturated The Monsanto Years (out June 30), then head out with Young, as his backing band, on a national 12-date stadium tour that kicks off July 5.
“It’s a dream come true,” Lukas says. “I can’t put into words how incredible it feels.”
Beyond the jolts of fandom, the experience represents an opportunity for the 26-year-old Lukas to learn from one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and build his own adoring throngs. The education has extended beyond music.
“I try to absorb everything,” he says. “How he works and keeps his brain active. [Young’s] work ethic is second to none. There’s a level of clarity. He’s so on it all the time, he’s extremely honest and he’s not afraid to call anyone out. If he’s wrong, he’s able to admit it.”
Nelson views the finished record as documentation of the extraordinary experience.
“Every song evokes a memory of playing in the studio and makes me feel elated,” he says.
From the protest tune “A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee Shop” (referencing Starbucks’ connection to a Monsanto lawsuit) to the environmental tirade “If I Don’t Know,” Nelson says Monsanto is more than another political album.
“It has poetic depth,” he says. “[Young] doesn’t mince words. There are facts in there.”
Following a couple of quiet albums over the past few years, Monsanto – recorded live in the studio without headphones – marks Young’s return to louder and crunchier Crazy Horse-era rock and roll, chocked full of sizzling back-and-forth guitar solos from Young and Nelson.
On Sunday, about a week before Nelson and the Promise of the Real hit the road with Young, they’ll perform – sans Neil – at the Monterey County Fairgrounds.
After two years of less-than-mediocre attendance, festival founder/producer Dan Miller made some drastic changes, all the way down to the name of the event. The Monterey Americana Festival is now the Monterey BaconFest, where bacon and music come together. For only $10 bucks per day, attendees get a well-crafted lineup – a mix of 10 touring and local acts over the course of the weekend – that fit snugly under the Americana music genre umbrella. It all goes down on the Fairgrounds’ Garden Stage.
And natch, there will be bacon. A lot of it, as Montrio Bistro Exec Chef Tony Baker (of Baker’s Bacon) and Tarpy’s Exec Chef Todd Fisher, former host of the television show United States of Bacon, will serve as ambassadors of a plethora of porcine-related products.
But music will dominate. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chris Hillman’s career spans more than five decades, including stints with the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas and The Desert Rose Band. Hillman has been nominated for a Grammy four times, his songs have been recorded by everyone from Emmylou Harris and Patti Smith to Beck and Steve Earle and he scored an Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
The mandolinist is also credited, alongside Gram Parsons, as one of the pioneers of the California country rock that came out of the ’60s. With the Byrds’ 1968Sweetheart of the Rodeo, they unapologetically drove full-force, with Parsons now on board, into territory vastly different from radio-friendly psychedelic rock hits like “8 Miles High.” Hillman describes the masterful record as “country music with bluegrass nuances.”
“We had a great time making [Sweetheart],” Hillman says. “It wasn’t our best-selling record, but it opened the floodgates for The Eagles and a lot of other bands.”
In Monterey, Hillman will be joined by a longtime collaborator, former Laurel Canyon Ramblers frontman Herb Pedersen. The multi-instrumental singer has worked with everyone from John Prine and Jerry Garcia to John Denver and Linda Ronstadt.
“[Pedersen] is one of David Crosby’s favorite singers,” Hillman says.
From the Byrds’ “Turn, Turn, Turn” to the Burrito Brothers’ “Sin City,” the acoustic duo delivers songs spanning Hillman’s career.
“It’s just mando and guitar,” he says. “These songs are in their purest form. I enjoy it because it’s challenging.”
Saturday won’t be the 70-year-old’s Fairgrounds debut. Hillman first played at the venue at the short-lived Monterey Folk Festival in 1963. But the musician forged an eternal love with the Fairgrounds in 1967, when the Byrds (Hillman, Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke) rocked the mainstage arena at the groundbreaking Monterey Pop Festival.
“It was the best rock festival ever,” Hillman says. “It was so well run and there wasn’t one problem. It was a joy and such a diverse lineup.”
Hillman’s Saturday performance marks one of only four summer appearances, which is by design.
“I’m not chasing a career, so I’m as active as I want to be,” he says.
Meanwhile, Albert Lee is more active than most teenagers. The 71-year-old British guitarist, who closes out the first day of BaconFest with dobro/steel guitar master Cindy Cashdollar, is on the road for at least 250 days of the year. Following three months in Europe, Lee is in the final days of a two-week break before he jumps back into another extensive tour, which will include a pair of special U.K. shows accompanying rock innovator Jerry Lee Lewis. The recently confirmed gigs are billed as Lewis’ final U.K. performances and double as 80th birthday celebrations.
In addition to his more than 20 solo records, Lee’s appeared on dozens of studio albums throughout the years by some of the world’s biggest recording artists, from Eric Clapton to Dolly Parton. He’s also toured with the likes of Bo Diddley and the Everly Brothers. Lee’s a guitarist’s guitarist – whether it’s jazz, blues, country or rock, he delivers gold on his signature Music Man axe.
“I play what I usually play and I think it works,” Lee explains. “My style covers a lot of ground.”
The development of his technique goes back to the ’50s. Lee and peers Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Clapton began as straight rock and rollers, pupils of Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, but after they heard B.B. King and Muddy Waters, everything changed. Around the same time, Lee tuned in to American session guitarist Jimmy Bryant, known for wielding “the fastest guitar in the country.” While his British pals began to integrate electric American blues into their rock, Lee introduced some twang.
“I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done,” BaconFest organizer Dan Miller said after the first Americana Fest.
So he introduced some bacon.
Monterey BaconFest 11am-7pm (10am VIP entry) Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28. Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road, Monterey. $10/advance; $15/gate; VIP: $45/advance; $60/gate; family tickets (parents plus children under 18): $25/advance; $30/gate.www.montereyamericanafestival.com
≈ Monterey BaconFest 2015 Schedule ≈
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
Delaney Ann and Southern SunDaze 11:30am
The Easy Leaves 12:15pm
The Silent Comedy 1:45pm
Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen 3:30pm
Albert Lee featuring Cindy Cashdollar 5:30pm
SUNDAY, JUNE 28
Mike Beck 11:30am
Lauren Shera 12:15pm
Midnight North 1:45pm
Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real 3:30pm
Jim Lauderdale 5:30pm