Photo by Joey Martinez


Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real have shared a new song, “Leave ‘Em Behind,” a track of their upcoming record A Few Stars Apart. The new record is due out June 11.

“‘Leave ‘Em Behind’ is one of my favorite tracks on the album,” shared Nelson about the track in a statement. “I wrote it about a friend who was in an abusive relationship…and as we saw the domestic abuse numbers climb during the pandemic, I was moved to write this song.”

The band previously shared the album’s lead single, “Perennial Bloom (Back To You),” when they announced the album in late April.

“I’m from what one might say is the ultimate road family—I’ve been on the road my entire life,” said Nelson. “I’ve never been anywhere longer than three months, and suddenly here we are, the four of us together. And thank god we were together. I can’t remember the last time we had that much time together as a family. We had a lot of really important bonding that happened during that time. And I have to say, as terrible as the pandemic has been in so many ways, for my inner peace, I was able to take a lot of good from this time. I was able to pause and reflect.

“It took me a really long time to come back to the home in my heart. In a physical sense, that’s Texas and Hawaii,” he continued. “But in a spiritual sense as well—I think I finally decided not to run from who I am and who I am destined to be. First and foremost, that’s a songwriter. That’s what this record means to me. There’s a story being told through the whole record. A story about connection and coming home.”

Listen to the new single here or below.