At 92 years old, Willie Nelson’s career is still going strong.
He became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, and continues to add to his staggering collection of studio albums (he’s released more than 70).
Now, the legendary artist has been nominated for a pair of Grammys — one for best Americana album (“Last Leaf on The Tree,” his 76th studio album), and the other for best traditional country album (“Oh What A Beautiful World,” his 77th studio album released earlier this year).
The best traditional country album category is new to the Grammys this year. But to claim the inaugural award, Nelson, a 12-time Grammy winner, will have to beat out his own son.
Willie Nelson, Lukas Nelson nominated in the same Grammy category
Marking a rare occasion for the Grammys, a father and son are facing off in the same category.
The nominees for best traditional album are:
- Charley Crockett, “Dollar A Day”
- Lukas Nelson, “American Romance”
- Willie Nelson, “Oh What a Beautiful World”
- Margo Price, “Hard Headed Woman”
- Zach Top, “Ain’t In It For My Health”
Willie Nelson’s 2025 album is a tribute of sorts to singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, featuring 12 of the artist’s songs.
“American Romance,” meanwhile, marks Lukas Nelson’s debut solo album. The 36-year-old artist has previously performed and toured extensively with his band, Promise of the Real, and won a Grammy for his work on the soundtrack to the Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga film “A Star is Born,” per Time magazine.
“Promise of the Real was a band that I started when I was 19. I was always the songwriter, and those guys traveled with me through thick and thin,” Lukas Nelson told Time. “We became Neil Young’s backing band for five years. Then we’re trying to do both my songs and Neil’s songs and straddle that line. But a lot of the fans that we got were fans of Neil and, of course, my father.
“Eventually I realized, if I don’t establish myself as an artist right now, then I won’t be able to,” he continued. “So I just decided to go out and play for my own fans and my own generation and figure out who I am. I had to just become Lukas Nelson.”
On Friday, following the Recording Academy’s Grammy nominations, Willie Nelson tweeted out a picture with his sons, Micah and Lukas.
“Grammy-Nominated Nelsons,” he wrote, noting that Micah produced his 2024 Americana album “Last Leaf on the Tree.”
Lukas Nelson has also frequently expressed pride for his father, including in the 2023 Sundance Film Festival docuseries “Willie Nelson & Family.”
“Dad has been homeless, he’s had his house burned down, he’s been through four marriages, he’s been up and down, he’s been broke, he fought the IRS, he’s lost a child,” Lukas Nelson says in the film, per Deseret News. “That’s what makes him inspiring to me — his resilience in the face of adversity.”
Although rare, the father-son battle at the upcoming Grammys isn’t unprecedented. In 1998, crooner Julio Iglesias — who frequently duetted with Willie Nelson throughout his career — was nominated for best latin pop album alongside his son, Enrique Iglesias (the award went to Luis Miguel), Rolling Stone reported.