SO damn good. Earlier this year, Willie Nelson's son, Lukas, filled in for him during a couple weeks of his annual Outlaw Music Festival tour while his father was sick. Along with Willie's Family Band, Lukas ran through some of Willie's biggest hits and most beloved songs, from "On The Road Again" to my personal favorite, "Always On My Mind." But at a stop in Raleigh, he did an absolutely gorgeous medley of classics "Funny How Time Slips Away," "Crazy" and "Night Life." Of course, "Funny How Time Slips Away" was a solo write from Willie’s 1962 debut studio album, …And Then I Wrote, and was first recorded by Billy Walker in 1961. Elvis Presley also released a version of it in 1971 for his Elvis Country album. "Crazy" was made a massive hit by the one and only Patsy Cline, after Willie wrote it himself and Patsy's husband, producer Charlie Dick, famously took Willie to their house in the middle of the night to wake his wife up to listen to it, because he knew “Crazy” was a hit from the first time he heard it. She recorded it in 1961, and it shot to the #2 spot on the country charts in 1962, becoming an all-time standard and classic that is beloved by country fans to this day. "Night Life" was another solo write by Willie, which he sold to Paul Buskirk in 1960 for $150. It was ultimately a hit for Ray Price, who made it the title track to his 1963 album. That version peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and that same year, Doris Day also recorded the song for her Columbia Records album, Love Him. Many other artists also recorded it over the years, and in after releasing his own version in 1979, Willie's recorded ultimately peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1980. Clearly, they're all three classics, and some of the best music Willie ever made... and hearing Lukas sing them is something special too. In so many ways, his voice resembles his father's, obviously, but he's an extremely talented artist in his own right who you should definitely be listening to if you're unfamiliar with his music. Lukas most recently released an album called Sticks & Stones in 2023, and announced that he and his band would be on an indefinite hiatus going forward earlier this year. Since then, he's been teasing some solo stuff on Instagram that I am dying to hear, and hope that means he's been working on some new songs, or even a whole project, coming in 2025. I have been a fan of Lukas for a long time, and these are some of my favorite songs ever, so hearing this is truly magical and I can't get enough. Do yourself a favor and check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UALsTO7XjLE Here's one Lukas shared recently that I am already obsessed with: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCmqNJ2x60p/ And how about a little bit of Kris Kristofferson... I could listen to him sing "Help Me Make It Through the Night" all day long, it's exceptional: https://www.instagram.com/p/DArcHIxSLwB/