Watch Lukas Nelson Cover Two of His “Favorite Songwriters”—Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson—at the Grand Ole Opry

For many country artists, performing at the Grand Ole Opry is an honor if not a bucket list item. Usually, performers use their three-song set to play some of their biggest songs or introduce new music to the audience. When Lukas Nelson stepped into the hallowed Circle on October 29, 2022, he chose to take a different route. He played one of his songs. Then, he performed two covers from his “favorite songwriters”—Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.

Nelson kicked off his Opry performance with “Find Yourself.” Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real originally recorded it for their 2014 EP Sampler. Later, they included it on their 2017 self-titled album. After wrapping up the original song, he took a moment to address the crowd. “That was a song called ‘Find Yourself’,” he began. “My name is Lukas Nelson and I’m happy to be here but tonight I’m gonna play you a couple songs from my favorite songwriters. The first one is a Kris Kristofferson song,” he added before going into “Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends.”

[RELATED: Lukas Nelson Remembers Kris Kristofferson in a Touching Post: “I Love Him and I Always Will”]

After finishing the Kristofferson cover, he thanked the crowd and the Opry band before giving the next song a short but meaningful introduction. “This is a song by my favorite songwriter,” he said before playing his dad’s 1980 hit “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.”

Lukas Nelson Picks Gems from Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson’s Catalogs

Lukas Nelson grew up around some of the greatest songwriters the country music genre has ever seen in Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. As a result, he is familiar with their hits as well as deep cuts from their albums. He proved that with his Opry set.

Kris Kristofferson wrote “Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends” in the early ‘70s but wasn’t the first to record it. Bobby Bare was the first to cut the song. He included it on his 1971 album Where Have All the Seasons Gone. Then, three years later, Ronnie Milsap recorded it and released it as a single from his 1974 album Pure Love. His version topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Kristofferson later recorded it with his then-wife Rita Coolidge on their final duet album Natural Act. The song was fitting as, at the time, their marriage was beginning to fall apart. They released the album in 1978 and divorced the following year. He and Mark Knopfler would revisit the song on Kristofferson’s 1999 album The Austin Sessions.

Willie Nelson wrote “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” for the 1980 movie Honeysuckle Rose. The film gave him his first starring role and the soundtrack gave him two No. 1 hits—“Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” and the iconic “On the Road Again.”

Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival