Courtesy Jason Stoltzfus
Audio By Carbonatix
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Daniel Donato makes a point of remembering and honoring where he came from.
The Nashville star is preparing to release his first-ever live album, “Ryman to Robert’s” (August 28 via Retrace Music), which he sees as a cosmic full-circle moment highlighting his ascent from playing local honky-tonks to selling out one of Music City’s most iconic venues, the same one he used to busk outside of.
“That record is symbolic of my story as an artist, but on some level, a story that’s personally applicable to anyone with a vision,” says the lead man of Cosmic Country. “When I started out when I was 14 years old, I started out busking on the street, and one of the places I used to busk for tips was on the stairs on the side of the Ryman.”
Last August’s headlining show proved to be a culmination of that come-up and a crowning moment reminiscent of an influential night when he got to see Sturgill Simpson take the same stage back in 2015.
“I played every possible venue in between the stairs of the Ryman to the Ryman itself. There was no viral moment. There was no A&R guy with a gold Rolex that came in and made me a star,” Donato continues. “It was just the providence of my own vision and the mysterious faithfulness that is the music that brought me there.”
After the Ryman set, Donato & Co. visited an old stomping ground, Robert’s Western World, a spot that he’d play nearly 500 times over the years, for another 90-minute set.
Courtesy Daniel Donato
“Why I wanted to do that was just to really let everyone know where part of Cosmic Country came from. It really is a Nashville band. It’s funny because Nashville has no idea who we are,” he says, referring to the lack of major marketing and exposure that most musicians from the area hold on to.
“There’s no one on country radio that’s spent more hours out on Broadway playing country songs than I have,” Donato adds. “It’s the most Nashville record that has been made in this millennium. An artist that got started literally on the streets of Nashville who went to the honky tonks of Nashville, sweated it out — blood, sweat and tears — for over 500 shows then sold-out the Ryman, then went and played the very honky tonk where it all started. Show me an artist that’s more honky tonk than that.”
He laughs at the last tine, but it’s true. With Cosmic Country, Donato marries old-school country and western with another one of his loves, Dead-centric jam, to create something truly original. The uniqueness certainly resonates, as evidenced by his growing cult following between the two sects. Catch it live this week on Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, at Bellvue’s Mishawaka Amphitheatre.
“I really just want to glorify the musical tradition and legacy that Nashville creates and to show that Cosmic Country is in lineage with that, just like Marty Stuart or Vince Gill or Brad Paisley is,” he explains. “We just have a little bit more tie-dyes at our shows than them. We come in peace.”
Donato is as real as they come, and that unabashed honesty is what keeps him going and those who are part of the Cosmic Country Club coming back for more.
“That’s really my goal with Cosmic Country is to be around for those that have the ears to hear us for as long as possible,” he concludes. “You do that through songs and music that will age well and stand the test of time, which I think actually are songs that are truthful, beautiful and good.”
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, 8 p.m. Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, Mishawaka Amphitheatre, 13714 Poudre Canyon Highway, Bellvue. Tickets are $47-$83.
