\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen Lukas Nelson<\/a> issued his album American Romance<\/em> earlier this summer, it marked the very first release under his own name. Up until then, the singer, songwriter, and guitarist fronted the group Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, which eventually went on to back Neil Young<\/a> for nearly five years.<\/p>\n \n\tThe band announced they were going their separate ways, at least for a little while, in 2024. \u201cAfter 15 unforgettable years, Promise of the Real has decided to take a well-earned hiatus, and begin a new creative chapter in all of our lives,\u201d a statement<\/a> read.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a new interview on Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2019s Nashville Now<\/a><\/em><\/a> podcast, Nelson spoke at length about his decision to press pause on the band and make his solo debut with American Romance<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019d been a long time of hundreds of shows a year with the same guys, the same musicians. I think growth is important,\u201d he says. \u201cI felt that that band had become Neil Young\u2019s band. It started off as my band and then when Neil heard us, we all loved Neil, and we all went and became disciples and students of him\u2026 We went off and had adventures with him.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tNelson says he\u2019s committed to prioritizing his own music. \u201cI wanted to keep playing my own songs\u2026 \u00a0I wanted to focus on that completely. And a lot of those guys are still playing with Neil, so that\u2019s great, but I wanted to be able to do my own thing,\u201d he says, \u201cand to put most of my focus on that and building my own crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n