by Dan Fernandez , photo Jason Stoltzfus
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country
Friday, April 10th – Doors 6pm Cowboys DanceHall, Largo FL
Tickets https://www.eventbrite.com/e/daniel-donatos-cosmic-country-largo-tickets-1976665272039?aff=oddtdtcreator
It’s a rare thing when someone knows exactly what they want to do when they come into their own. It’s even more of a rarity when that someone becomes one of the best in their fields to do it. That is exactly the case with Daniel Donato who got his start as barely a teenager busking along Nashville’s famous Broadway Street for spectators and tourists. He played across from the venues that housed some of his legends, often for up to 8 hours a day with full support of his father who, at times, would jam along with him. I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Daniel in the lead up to Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country’s stop at Cowboys Dance Hall in Largo, Florida on April 10, 2026.
At 30 years old, boasting achievements such as playing over 400 shows with the Don Kelly Band at Nashville’s famous Robert’s Western World, performing at the Ryman or Grand Ol Opry Daniel Donato’s resume reads as one of a well-seasoned honky-tonk legend. Someone who you would imagine is far beyond his age. When asked what he attributed that drive to Donato responded “That was just the nature of my trip. The music inside my soul had to get out. Whenever you find something your hands can do and can do well you’ve got to go for it and music, for one reason or another, it’s one of the very few things that I can do well with my hands. I remember when I was young, I knew that on some deep level unconsciously and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more aware of it.”
Although Daniel had plenty of early success, his real boost came when he broke away from life in backing bands for industry legends and formed his own project with musicians that were, more or less, his own age. When asked if there was a moment where he knew that he had something special with Cosmic Country he answered “It’s a lot more like reality than story where I’m not a miracle-seeking person, but I do believe that there are divine and supernatural mediums of assistance that love us and do give us miracle-like things… It’s like year after year when you look back, you start to see the connection and how everything is unified and that to me is somewhat of a miracle.
Especially when we play with a lot of bands that I’ve never heard before. I call it the cosmic effect. When we get into a room or a festival where people haven’t heard us before, I can see them, I can see the effect happening the first time. And that to me is proof of concept. And the concept is if I feel beauty and truth and goodness with the music that’s coming from my soul inside and I give it to the world, for other people feel it as well, that to me is a absolutely a miracle.” Daniel continued “I saw the cosmic effect happen at Hulaween. I just don’t know a lot of bands that can turn the light switch on at something like Hulaween and then also at Robert’s Western world. It’s just one of those things. The only thing that I can logically feel and say is that if it feels truthful inside, then if you say it or you play it or you type it or you paint it or whatever, as long as it feels truthful, then it will feel beautiful and good.” This openness gives Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country an appeal that draws in eyes and ears from all corners of the music world. Nothing is off limits for these guys; there are no boundaries to what they can collectively bring to life and in turn, there are no potential fans that they can’t find a way to reach.
After an incredibly well received freshman album released in 2023 the guys decided to pump out their second all original release Horizons just two years later in 2025. On the differences between the two albums Daniel replied “If you look at a photo of yourself from five years ago or six years ago or so, it’s still you. But you can see that there’s been a period of time in between where all these experiences, all this information, all that’s happened. So, there’s a difference between who you are today and who you were yesterday.” He elaborated “Even though it was only a two year difference between those the amount of change that happened in society within those two years was asymmetrical relative to the amount of time. So, what I noticed was a lot of honest truth-seeking music listeners were really looking for an honest and truth-seeking form of music that was made vulnerably and honestly that leaned in on humanity and leaned in on the soul.” It is incredibly refreshing to hear a young artist speak about creating music in such an honest and heartfelt way. To put their entire self into every song lyric and melody, especially in a time where algorithmic and mass produced slop fill the charts.
When you attend a Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country show the music and atmosphere do the talking, but the crew does not rely on their recordings alone to draw in new fans, keeping to a grueling touring schedule that resulted in over 100 shows in 2025 alone. The sheer amount of tour dates speaks to the importance that Donato and co put into their connection to their fans. When asked how the band keeps up with such a rigorous schedule Donato explained “Oomph is a good word for it, but who gives you the oomph and so I feel like the oomph, the inspiration, the faith, the steadfast love… I feel like all that comes from for me, my word of choice is God. And I love the fact that everybody has their word of choice. You know, some people use the word of choice simulation, some their word of choice is spirituality. And it’s becoming increasingly clear to me that live music is a form of service. And so, I can be in service to something, and it’s not about me on a primary level. It’s about me on a secondary level or third, tertiary level. But on a first level, I’ve been put here, as far as I can tell, to be a vessel. To bring fruitful, beautiful, and good music into people’s lives. And I love being that. I haven’t been called to go on stage and to tell people what to post online or tell people who to hate or to tell people who to agree with or anything. I’m just here to bring, to attempt to bring, great music into people’s lives so once they leave the show, they can take that feeling and sow those good seeds elsewhere in their lives. That’s what it’s all about.”
Over the groups career, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country has steadily been loyal to Florida when creating their touring schedule for the year. As a Florida native born and raised, I thoroughly appreciate this as many bands either skip the state completely or only hit one or two cities due to the difficulties that touring our very large, very spread out state comes with. Donato’s response to our question about this loyalty was “Historically, Florida is big on country…and jam. But it’s also a place that’s tough to tour. Dead space, long drives… I just like the challenge of it. Also, ever since we’ve been playing in Florida, each show we play gets bigger. And the people that were there at the first show were also at the second, third, fourth, and fifth, and so on. I’ve received loyalty from them. I feel like cosmically… I’m given an opportunity to give them the same loyalty, you know?”
As our conversation wound down, I could not help but have a reoccurring thought of the sincerity and humility that someone who has achieved such heights at such a young age can show. That is a very special thing, but I feel like that word, “special,” Can be used to define so much of Daniel Donato’s path. The support that his father showed him was special, the dedication to his craft that he showed at an early age and the fact that, due to his dedication, he got that coveted gig at Robert’s when he was still too young to be a patron was special, the way that he soaked up knowledge from old timers like a sponge while creating his own sound and the community that he and his band mates have created in the following years is resoundingly special. As a parting of ways Daniel expressed that he “just wanted to thank everyone and anyone who’s coming out to a Cosmic Country show today or tomorrow or that has before. I want to thank them so sincerely for taking that leap of faith. It’s very hard and difficult to go to a concert now. It takes a ton of money, takes a ton of time, and physically and spiritually it takes a ton of energy. None of that is lost on me and I just want everybody to know that I’m so grateful for that. Everything that they’ve given me; I want to give back to them with all of my soul.”
FAN QUESTIONS: As always, I like to add a few fan questions to the end of my interviews. The following are the questions chosen this round
Q1. Dan is obviously an inspiration to many guitar players. What would your number one thing for aspiring guitar players to work on be? Number one thing you’d work on or focus on?
A1. “Know every note on every string without having to think about it. So, when I’m speaking to you or when you’re speaking to me, you don’t really have to think too much about the words you’re going to have to say. You know, we’re improvising right now, and so before you respond to me or before I respond to you, there’s a ton of words coming into my head. And, and I think about those, but it’s really fast. It’s really smooth. I think there’s a phrase that the Navy says, which is that slow is smooth and smooth is fast. So, I would challenge anyone that’s trying to learn the guitar to slowly and smoothly learn every note without having to think about it to where they can play just as easily as they speak.
Q2. At least partially in jest, a fan asked what it would take to get you to come to their wedding, but as I was chatting with them in the comments, they posted their wedding playlist, and it had four or five of your songs on there. How does it feel to know you’ve touched fans’ lives that much?
A2. “I just thank God, really, for that. I feel like whatever anybody’s word of choice is it seems that a characteristic of what is higher is that it wants us all to unify and that’s not easy and it shouldn’t be easy… but the fact that I can play music and I can create music that brings beauty into people’s lives and then I can be a part of their life in that way and it helps them with the unification of their life. To me, the way that that feels, to answer your question, is that it feels like a blessing and it’s like a sampling of what eternity feels like.”
Q3, Who are your top musicians or what albums you’re listening to right now or favorite guitarists, like current?
A3. I like a lot of old music. There’s a ton of new music coming out, though, that I do like, and I’ll say some of those. I love Billy Strings. I love Zach Talk. Charlie Crockett and Sierra Farrell and Paul Coffin. I love Paul Coffin. My friend Kenny Whitmire, he’s blowing up right now online and he’s about to start hitting the road. He’s a legend in the making. But I really just listen to mostly older music, you know, older guitar players like Jacob Reinhardt. I listen to John Longham and David Gilmore. I’ve been digging into getting David Gilmore a lot because he’s very cosmic in this sound.
Q4. What’s this strangest gift to fans giving you at a show? Or weirdest interaction even?
A4. There are some weird ones that are probably worth just leaving in the past, people showing up to my house and stuff… But, Well, you know, to me, strange is… I think the universe is very strange. I think the design of everything is very strange. I think consciousness is strange. I think beauty is innately strange. Fundamentally, it’s very strange and sophisticated and infinite. So just the fact that music exists is kind of strange. And the fact that we have a mind that… No other animal on this planet or being has ever played music or discovered music. You know, birds are musical but there’s not a harmonious intention behind. It’s just inherent. It’s just them vocalizing their language. Now, when we have the intention, we, you know, I can say, ‘hey, Dan,’ or I could go, ‘hey, Dan, where are you going with that gun in your hand?’ It’s really strange. I can call that strange. And so, I’ve received a lot of beautifully strange things from people in Cosmic Country. Very, very, very thoughtful. Like, there’s these fellas, (holds pendant up to screen) the Dern Good Creations. These fellas, they hand stamp all of these wood designs. That’s really neat. And they come to a ton of Cosmic Country shows. And for every show they come to, they do a different design. I think that’s one of the strangely beautiful things I’ve received. It’s all a blessing.