by photojournalist Dan Fernandez
Earlier in the month I had the chance to catch up with Daniel Donato of Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country for an in depth one on one interview. Due to that, instead of recapping his backstory I am going to link you to the interview below.
https://www.tampabaymusicnews.com/meet-daniel-donato-the-artist-turning-country-into-a-cosmic-jam/
As for Friday night in Largo, Florida Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country (DDCC) fully and absolutely got down. The Nashville based band, which includes Daniel Donato on guitar and lead vocals, Nathan “Sugarleg” Arnowitz on keys, Will “Mustang” McGee on bass and Will “Bronco” Clark on drums steadily brought the heat, effortlessly blending a twangy, roadhouse sound with psychedelic and improvisational jam. Although Donato got his start at the famous Robert’s Western World as a teenager I could not help but be curious as to how the groups approach and original material would translate to a traditional Honky-Tonk joint with a true blue line dancin’, two steppin’ crowd such as those that attend Cowboys Dance Hall on a regular basis. The answer to my curiosity, it translated damn well as the Cosmic Country immediately took hold, bringing the entire bar to their feet and grooving along, whether you were riding the rail or playing pool in the back of the venue.
Donato and his crew’s relentless devotion to staying true to themselves and letting their curated experience speak for itself was on full display yet again. While their “5th gear” improvisational skill and hivelike knowledge of one another’s tendencies amped the crowd up, slower, more traditional country tunes momentarily subdued them just the same, showing exactly how much Donato had those in attendance in the palm of his hand.
With no opener DDCC was able to provide their fans with a near 3 hour, 2 set experience that somehow still felt too short. Set one opened with traditional country tunes “Workin’ Man Blues” and a personal favorite of mine “Fox on the Run” before splitting into a jam filled set consisting of “Broadside Ballad/Hangman’s Real” transition and a captivating rendition of “About the Angels.” Going on to wrap the set up with “Blame the Train,” “Running Gun,” “Along the Trai” and “Angel from Montgomery” before taking a short break to regroup and refresh.
I’ve always said that one of the trademarks of a great performance is how quickly the merch booth fills up as and after they play. If I am correct in that indicator than Donato and company absolutely killed that first set as the line started to form almost simultaneously with the band pressing the pause button and didn’t die down until well after the music began again.
After 15-20 minutes the boys of Cosmic Country were ready to bring the funk once again opening with a tornado of jam crossovers featuring a “Justice/Jessica” jam, a “At the Ball/Guilty Jubilee” jam, only to culminate in another personal favorite “Why You Been Gone So Long” that elicits the sound of a young Willie Nelson. After slowing it down for a tune the guys got getting back into jam mode with a hybridization of “To Live is to Fly/ Pancho and Lefty,” followed by “Ride On” and “Country Boy” which bled right into a n end of set banger crossing “Luck of the Draw/Sugar Leg Rag.” The group momentarily left the stage as those infamous cheers of “one more song!” echoed throughout the building. The crowd was not done with the band, and Donato’s Cosmic County most assuredly was not done with them as they returned to the stage for a mind bending rendition of “Whiskey River” that set the entire room into a frenzy, moving and shaking like no one was watching.
I know that this weekend was a busy weekend in the bay area for music with Lukas Nelson and Gasparilla Music Fest taking place, as well as Donato collaborator Billy Strings gracing Benchmark International Arena earlier in the week but if you missed out on this show you easily missed out one of the best performances of the lot. Luckily for you the band is still in Florida, slated to play Vinyl Music Hall in Pensacola on April 15th before hitting Live Oak Florida’s famed music festival Resonate on April 16th. After both speaking to Daniel about the bands process a couple of weeks ago and seeing that process come to fruition on Friday night it was painfully clear to me Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country do not strive to just put on another concert or simply entertain the crowd; they give their all every night to provide a fully immersive experience that pulls everyone into its orbit and along for the ride. There is a deliberate connectivity in the bands approach, an authentic and ever present need to reach out and coalesce with the fans. To feed off the energy created in the room. To become one with the moment. To reach what Daniel told me he calls the “Cosmic Effect.”
