If you ever get the chance to see Cody Jinks and Lukas Nelson in concert together, it’s not a show you should miss.
They’re currently on a run of shows together in Arkansas and Texas, but Cody recently had Lukas on his A Couple In podcast to talk about life on the road, golf, Lukas’ hand in writing and producing the music for A Star Is Born, as well as the first time they met 12 years ago in Fort Worth.
Cody is a Fort Worth native, and recalled first meeting Lukas at one of his shows there years back:
“We wanted to have you on, after all these years… you and I have actually met before. It was around, probably, 2010. I came to see you at a place called Lola’s in Fort Worth.”
And Lukas immediately remembered the night, not because he met Cody, but because of what happened after the show (which we’ll get to):
“Holy shit… I’ve got a great story about Lola’s. So tell me your story and I’ll tell you mine.”
Cody said he just remembered it being a great show, and that Lukas and his band, Promise of the Real, were traveling in a class C motor home at the time playing all over the country:
“There’s not a lot to mine, that was my first introduction to you and Promise of the Real. I think at that time you guys had just put out, or were about to put out, the actual album ‘Promise of the Real’ around 2010.
They were in a class C motor home, and we spent a lot of years in a class C motor home… so that’s what you were in the first time I saw you guys.
And the show was great, and I had so much fun, and after the show I ran into you outside and I said ”Hi,’ and I really enjoyed the show.”
Lukas didn’t necessarily remember meeting Cody because he and the band had a little too much to drink, but they inevitably had to hit the road not long after to get to the next town for the next show:
“Let me just tell you about that night, because we kinda got fucked up that night and we drank a little bit… Oh my god, this was like, one of the more memorable nights in my early touring life.
Because we played that show, and the only thing I remember about that show really is that it was a cool little place and I was playing this Bob Dylan song, ‘what’s a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this,’ do you remember that song?
I remember because I had just introduced it and rehearsed it that day and I think we did it that night.”
And when they pulled out in their motor home, they were trying to turn around in a narrow culdesac when they were pulled over by the Fort Worth police.
Of course, they began completely freaking out because they weren’t completely sober at that point:
“But that RV, the class C motor home that we were in, so Anthony was driving, and we went and we drove and we had to go down this, like culdesac and then turn around.
But we got pulled over, and the cops came, and they pulled us over, this was after the show they pulled us over.
And we’d had a few, and I don’t think we were going that far, but we’d had a few. And the cop pulled us over, and we were just like, ‘we’re fucked.'”
But actually, the cop ended up asking about their music and helping them get the RV turned around, and did them a huge solid by letting them slide when they were obviously a little buzzed (at the very least):
“But he was the nicest guy in the freakin’ world, and he must’ve known we were a little sauced, but he like, knew we were a band, and he was like, ‘what kinda music y’all play?’
And helped us turn the RV around, it was like, the most interesting night. But we were so freaked out, like we had to like dump all our weed…”
And if a Nelson is dumping out all the weed he has on him, you know things are pretty dire…
If you want to listen to a great conversation, check out the entire episode with Lukas and Cody. And if you’re lucky enough to live close to where they’ll be making a few stops together over the next couple weeks, do NOT miss it.
