Harvest Announces Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real to Replace Blackberry Smoke

The Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival today announced that it has added blistering Los Angeles buzz band Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real to its 2016 edition. The group will take a break from preparations for their September 17 appearance at Farm Aid, to headline Harvest on Wednesday September 14, replacing Blackberry Smoke, who cancelled their appearance last week as a result of immigration complications due to legal issues.

Nelson began his musical career at a young age, touring with his father, country music icon Willie Nelson. After relocating from Hawaii in 2007 to attend college in Los Angeles, Nelson met drummer Anthony LoGerfo at a Neil Young concert, creating Promise of the Real and forging a rebellious blues sound all their own. The band has been thrust into the North American spotlight across two coveted full length albums, international dates on their own and with BB King and John Fogerty, as well as stops at virtually every late night show on television. This has also led to a remarkable collaboration between Promise of the Real and Neil Young, who recruited them as his full-time backing band, both live and in studio. Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real will make their Fredericton debut supported by Ross Neilsen, before joining Young and the elder Nelson at Farm Aid on September 17.

“Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real’s mix of blues, country, roots and straight-up rock marks the perfect replacement for Blackberry Smoke, and like Drive by Truckers and others, reinforces our desire to present exceptional new talent that our fans have been yearning to see at Harvest,” said Festival Programming Director, Brent Staeben. “Lukas’ remarkable musical pedigree and his current partnership with Neil Young speak for itself, but it’s the energy and passion in the band’s live show that truly grabs you,” he said. “We’re especially proud to be able to secure Lukas for Harvest fans, given his commitments that week to Neil Young and his father Willie.”

Along with the excitement of signing Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Harvest will still honor refunds for individual tickets and the Wednesday/Thursday Nightly Pass. Refunds will be available at point of purchase starting this Tuesday August 2nd at 9am (AST) through to Monday August 22nd.

The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival is Atlantic Canada’s largest annual music festival, drawing up to 85,000 fans to the streets of Fredericton each September. Drive-By Truckers, Robert Cray, Metric, The Sheepdogs and more will headline the 26th annual Festival this September 13-18.