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What: Lukas Nelson returns to ROCK the Mateel!
When: Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 / Doors open 7pm / Music at 8pm
Where: Mateel Community Center
Tickets: $20 at the door / $18 for MCC members

On Wednesday, February 1st 2012, the Mateel Community Center in Redway again welcomes... Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real!

Approaching the tail end of a record release tour debuting their first, full-length album, Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real will rock the Mateel Community Center in Redway, on Wednesday, February 1st. Trailing enthusiastic reviews from coast to coast, with Nelson’s blistering blues rock guitar, soulful vocals and powerhouse band, the result is a ripping live performance.

Promise of the Real is a testament to the group’s rich talent and musical versatility. Blessed by the genes and example of his famous father, Willie Nelson, in both his voice and off-stage humility, Lukas also names the music of Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Neil Young, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bob Dylan as major influences. Notably, Lukas, himself, has performed with Young and Dylan at benefit concerts, and, with the band, has toured twice with BB King, performed a set on the televised 2009 Farm Aid, and in 2011, performed their stand-out song, Four Letter Word, on David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel.  Before he gets too big for the building, don’t miss this chance to catch Lukas Nelson & he Promise Of The Real in the intimate setting of the Mateel Community Center

Aloha Radio, an up-and-coming California surf rock band featuring lead singer, Lauren Mulderrig, will open the show.

Doors open at 7pm with Aloha Radio at 8:00.  Admission is at the door only and is priced at $18 for MCC members and $20 general.  Beer and wine will be available and the kitchen sales for this event will benefit Kiwanis of the Redwoods.

More About the Band: (excerpted from www.promiseofthereal.com )

"Our name, Promise of the Real, comes from trying to do it the real way. That's what my goal in life is - to stay human, stay real, stay humble, and stay grounded for the rest of my life. I've learned a lot from my dad. He got me my first guitar when I was 12 and taught me chords, but I also learned by his example of how he lives his life and how he keeps his humility." - Lucas

"Four Letter Word" from the David Letterman Show on February 18th, 2011...

Lukas kept it so real that when his parents cut him off after dropping out of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles (where he studied music), Lukas lived out of his car for a year, couch surfed, and worked as a street performer to get in touch with what is real. "I had read the book, Siddhartha by Hermann Hess and it's loosely based on the life of the Buddha, who was born a prince but went off to learn what it was like to become a beggar," he says. "I felt connected to that. I would play guitar and sing on the Venice boardwalk and the promenade in Santa Monica, California and go back to the campus, and sit and play. I learned how to gather a crowd and create these cool little hippie happenings. I felt like I was getting a different kind of education this way."

Soon after, Lukas began to take his music career quite seriously. He had previously played in a hard rock band when he was just 9-years-old (Kalice), in a reggae band in high school in Hawaii at age 15 (Harmonic Tribe), and formed a band with his younger brother Micah at age 19 (40 Points). But with Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, his songwriting craft and performance skills were fully honed. The band - which includes drummer Anthony LoGerfo, percussionist Tato Melgar, and bassist Corey McCormick - released a well-received EP, Brando's Paradise Sessions, in 2009 and then hit the road with everyone from Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Bachman & Turner, Toots & the Maytals, the Meat Puppets, and others.

Along with opening slots, they've also jammed onstage with Neil Young, B.B. King, Bob Dylan, and of course dad, at Farm Aid 2010 and other gigs. 

"The live show," says Lukas, "is always an experience. It's an energy transfer between people. Nothing makes me happier than when we're up there jamming and everybody is singing along and dancing. It's never the same twice."