Just stunning.
This week, Lukas Nelson kicked off his fall American Romance tour, which started with three nights in his hometown of Austin, Texas.
In addition to playing new music from his recent American Romance album, Lukas took time to honor his mentor and country music icon Kris Kristofferson, as the anniversary of his death occurred over the weekend, as he passed on September 28th, 2024.
Kristofferson died at the age of 88 years old at his home in Maui, Hawaii last year, and of course, he’s one of the most prolific writers of all-time, in addition to being a talented singer, actor, among many other things like Golden Gloves boxer, Rhodes Scholar and Army helicopter pilot.
He was the true definition of being a jack of all trades, and he did them all extremely well, though his passion for music seemed to transcend it all, and he moved to Nashville in 1965, the same year he left the U.S. Army and declined a teaching position at West Point, in order to pursue a music career. He worked as a janitor at the Columbia Records recording studio as a way to try to get his foot in the door, where he eventually met Johnny Cash and the rest, as they say, is history.
Lukas has talked many times about how Kristofferson was the one who encouraged him to become a musician when he was very young, telling him he “don’t have a choice” but to be a songwriter and musician after hearing a song Lukas wrote as a kid.
So of course, he paid tribute to Kristofferson, performing his iconic “Lovin’ Her Was Easier (than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” which was written and recorded by Kristofferson for his 1971 album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I. Roger Miller, Tompall & the Glaser Brothers and even Willie Nelson have all recorded their own versions, as well.
While Kristofferson’s rendition was never promoted to country music radio, it did reach #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, becoming a minor radio success and one of his all-time best nonetheless.
In fact, it was actually the last song he ever performed publicly, when he took the stage at Willie’s 90th birthday celebration in April of 2023 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, where he sang with Roseanne Cash.
As I’m sure you know if you’re reading this, Lukas is incredibly talented, an amazing singer, and he does this song more than justice. It’s captivating to watch, and he did Kris more than proud with this rendition. It’s flawless, and it’s beautiful.
You could almost hear a pin drop with how locked in the audience was, and I would give anything to get a studio version of this because it’s nothing short of magical:
“Night one of the American Romance tour paying tribute my dear friend, Kris, on the anniversary of his passing.”
Do yourself a favor and check it out:
Lukas Nelson 2025 Tour Dates
September 30 /// Austin, TX /// Paramount Theatre†
October 2 /// Dallas, TX /// Majestic Theatre†
October 3 /// Little Rock, AR /// The Hall†
October 4 /// Memphis, TN /// Mempho Music Festival
October 6 /// Decatur, AL /// Princess Theatre
October 8 /// Nashville, TN /// The Pinnacle§
October 9 /// Atlanta, GA /// Buckhead Theatre§
October 10 /// North Charleston, SC /// Riverfront Revival Music Festival
October 12 /// Wilmington, NC /// Live Oak Bank Pavilion‡
October 14 /// Washington, D.C /// Lincoln Theater§
October 15 /// Philadelphia, PA /// Brooklyn Bowl§
October 21 /// Cleveland, OH /// Globe Iron§
October 22 /// Detroit, MI /// Majestic Theatre§
October 24 /// Milwaukee, WI /// The Rave§
October 25 /// Madison, WI /// The Sylvee§
October 26 /// Chicago, IL /// The Vic§
October 28 /// Saint Paul, MN /// Palace Theater§
October 29 /// Omaha, NE /// The Admiral§
October 31 /// Denver, CO /// Paramount Theatre§
†with special guest Laci Kaye Booth
§with special guest The Band Loula
‡with special guests Stephen Wilson Jr. and The Band Loula
“Lovin’ Her Was Easier (than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)”
