It would be surprising if Lukas Nelson didn’t wind up making music.

But it’s the path taken by the 36-year-old eldest son of Willie Nelson’s third marriage, whose first song, “You Were It” — written when he was just 11 years old — appears on his father’s 52nd studio album “It Will Always Be.”

Nelson, who performs at Cleveland’s Globe Iron on Oct. 20, has remained in music ever since, as part of his father’s Family Band and beyond. He’s released eight albums with Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, which backed Neil Young from 2014-2019. Nelson also wrote songs for the 2018 remake of “A Star Is Born,” for which he won Grammy and BAFTA awards, and continued to collaborate with the film’s star, Lady Gaga.

This year, however, he began what Nelson calls a “new era” in his career. “American Romance,” which came out in June, is his first album under his own name. Produced by longtime friend Shooter Jennings — son of the late Waylon Jennings, one of Willie Nelson’s best country Outlaw buddies — it offers a more melodic and laid-back direction and largely eschews the ruckus that Promise of the Real could kick up.

Nelson — an Austin, Texas native who now splits time between Nashville and Maui — says via Zoom that he’s comfortable on this path and maintains that it allows him to make any kind of music he wants as he moves forward…

How does it feel to be a “solo” artist now?

Nelson: Honestly, it feels somewhat the same — a great group of musicians around me, playing a lot of the same music. There’s just a little more freedom than…

Than you had in Promise of the Real?

Nelson: It was really almost cosmetic, the name change. What happened to me was the name Promise of the Real was so tied into Neil Young from the times we’d been playing with him that I felt like I wanted to make sure I could do something different, that felt different, that maybe fans of Neil Young or even fans of my dad wouldn’t necessarily be bummed about. I love Neil Young fans, and I love my dad’s fans, but I want to bring other fans along, too. And I felt like sometimes people were getting a little aggressive about me not playing as much guitar or rocking out at certain points. I wanted the freedom to NOT do that, and to do what I want to, when I want to. So I just felt I had to change the name, really.

Were there particular songs that telegraphed to you that desire to alter your musical path?

Nelson: I just knew that I have so many songs. I was in a flow of writing, and you can’t really tell yourself to write a certain song — some people can, but for me, whatever comes out comes out. So I was writing a lot of songs that were more about lyrics and vocals than they were about rockin’ out. That’s just what was coming out, and I wanted to focus on those songs. Since then, I’ve written a lot of rockers. (laughs)

It’s interesting that you recorded a new version of “You Were It” to close your first solo album with the first song you ever wrote.

Nelson: I was on the school bus, and it started playing in my head and I realized it was a song that hadn’t been written yet. So I wrote it and played it for my dad, and he liked it so much he put it on his album. That gave me a lot of confidence; I knew it wasn’t just fluff ‘cause dad put it on his album. I figured it was appropriate to finally put it out, and what better way to put it out than on a record with just my name on it. It’s very stripped down; that’s me at my core, so it was kind of a nice callback.

Coming from your lineage and surrounded by your dad’s community of musicians must have been intimidating.

Nelson: It inspired me is all. I read a book called “King of the World,” a biography of Muhammad Ali; in it he’s quoted as saying that every champion has one thing they believe in, that they can do something as good or better than anyone else. For me that was songwriting; I knew if I could write at 11 a song like “You Were It” that all I had to do was nurture that talent and I could be one of the best there ever was if I wanted to, regardless of who my parents were. I wanted to put the work in to do that from that moment on.

Has it been hard to straddle the line between having that obvious influence of your father and establishing your own identity?

Nelson: Honestly I just put my head down, and I didn’t ask for anything. I worked hard and I tried not to think about what anyone was writing about me or saying about me. I had people tell me, “You’re gonna be fine no matter what because your dad is show he is.” I just tried not to listen to that and just to say, “No matter what I do, I’ve got to do the work. I’ll take any opportunity to get the door open, but if I want it to stay open I’ve got to come in and do a good job.” That’s all that ever mattered to me, and all that still matters to me.

What’s most different about you now than that kid who wrote “You Were It?”

Nelson: I’m much more disciplined than I was back then. If I want to go on a diet, I’ll go on a diet. If I want to stop smoking weed or drinking, I stop cold turkey. I’m just more clear-headed about what I want, and then once I know that I just go for it and I do it. When you’re clear, if your heart speaks you can hear it.

What was working with Shooter like on “American Romance?”

Nelson: We grew up together. Shooter is just an amazing human being, an amazing friend. Shooter is also a brilliant producer; he’s produced some of my favorite works, so he’s really knowledgeable, especially with the type of music I love and I’m into. When he reached out and said he wanted to be part of this — in a letter he wrote me — it all seemed like it couldn`t have been more perfect. I was really excited when he reached out, and, man, I feel like he did a great job of capturing exactly what we needed to.

There were Willie and Waylon records, of course. How about Lukas and Shooter?

Nelson: I think this is kind of the way to do that. Shooter is very much a producer; he loves producing his friends’ music, and people he believes in. I think that’s where he feels the most at home, in his production. So this is how Lukas and Shooter collaborate. We have sung together; we might do an album together one time where we sing together. But I really think he loves his role as a producer most, and he’s damn good at it.

What will we be hearing from you ahead?

Nelson: Oh, I have so many things I’m excited about. I’m working on a movie project right now that I can’t really talk about yet, but I’ve written 30 songs for that with Ernest, and that’s exciting. I’ve got some other stuff in New York that I might be doing soon. And I’m planning on recording another album coming up pretty soon; I’m writing for that now, ‘cause I can’t stop the songs from coming. If you look back on some of the records I put out…“Something Real” (in 2016) is a psychedelic rock album, so that side of me is always there and I’ve been leaning towards going back to that part of myself lately. Or, I just wrote a song with Ben West and Laci Kaye Booth that feels like a mix of Radiohead and country. So it’s hard to say. I can just tell you there’s a lot of music, and some fun stuff on the horizon.