Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real at Red Butte Garden

In my quest to visit all of my favorite outdoor performing arts venues this summer I went to see Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real at the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre last night and it made me so happy to listen to live music while sitting under the stars!  I was first introduced to Promise of the Real when they backed Neil Young on tour and then I saw them again at the Commonwealth Room a few years ago.  I really love their rock-country sound and they always put on a great show!  They played quite a few songs from their latest album A Few Stars Apart, which I absolutely love, including "Perennial Bloom (Back to You)," "Throwin' Away Your Love," "More Than We Can Handle," "Leave 'Em Behind," and "A Few Stars Apart."  They also played some of my favorite songs, including "Start To Go," "Four Letter Word," "Fool Me Once," "Just Outside of Austin," "Little Girl," "Die Alone" "Carolina," and "(Forget About) Georgia."  They ended their set with a rousing rendition of "Find Yourself" with lots of audience participation.  For the encore they played "Wildest Dream" and "Smile" from the new album and then "Entirely Different Stars," a cover of "Get Off Of My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones, an incredibly passionate performance of "The Awakening" (which was my favorite of the evening), and "Something Real."  I think Lukas Nelson has an amazing voice (he sounds a lot like like his father Willie Nelson but a bit sultrier) and I really enjoyed seeing him play the piano in addition to his usual guitar.  He was very charismatic last night and joked quite a bit with the crowd.  It was a fantastic concert, not just because Promise of the Real put on such a great show, but also because hearing music performed live still feels like such a novelty!  I had a smile on my face the whole time and I will probably be on a high from this show for at least a week!  Red Butte Garden is a great venue and there are still some shows in the summer concert series (go here for tickets).  I definitely recommend checking one of them out.