Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country

"The Nashville guitarslinger continues to redefine his idea of ‘Cosmic Country’ on a mind-expanding new project." – Rolling Stone

Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country has been packing venues throughout the country with their incendiary live performances. Sold out shows range from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to Denver’s Ogden Theater.

“…Daniel Donato has emerged in recent years with an out of this world sound – and his newest project may be his best yet.” – The Bluegrass Situation

“This isn’t just mere ‘entertainment,’ Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country is the bold exploration of the vast outer regions of what is possible in country music, while still lovingly delivering all the twang you could ever want, and remarkably staying tethered to the true traditional country modes…until it’s time to take a step further into the great unknown.” – Saving Country Music

Daniel Donato's philosophic approach to playing music is simply stated, if hardly simple to achieve. "It occurs to me that music is actually a form of service," explains the Nashville raised singer, songwriter, guitarist and bandleader, who's adopted Cosmic Country as both a group name and as the moniker for his ambitious stylistic alchemy.

"You can make a living of it and do beautiful things with your life, but music is really a service to bring truth into people's lives --if that's something you're interested in doing."

Donato has proven very interested, and extremely adept, at serving that higher calling with his music during the past six years of recording--including the new Horizons, his third studio album and second full set of all-original material.

It's another dynamic 15-song set that features Donato and his compatriots in Cosmic Country traipsing through a wealth of American music, picking like bluegrass virtuosos one minute, cranking out rock riffs the next and then steering into otherworldly --yes, cosmic --jam spaces.

Co-produced with Vance Powell, who also worked on 2023's reputation-establishing Reflector, it's a testament to the reverence, curiosity and fearlessness that fuels Donato's creative ambitions as both student and acolyte. "The degree to which you respond to the call to adventure equals the degree to which you're willing to sacrifice and admit that you don't truly know everything that goes on," he explains, "and that you're willing to find out there's more to know.”

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There are a lot of musical influences and sources that Daniel Donato has drawn on during his career and that inform his latest album, Horizon(Retrace Music), his second all-original album. But within those, Donato has carved out a unique and individualized spot for himself, one that speaks to the deep American music heritage that inspires him --and that he's pushing towards the future with inspired, intentional vigor. He calls it Cosmic Country, a moniker that's both self-descriptive and a statement of purpose. It's an organic rock band aesthetic with plenty of roadhouse twang; a showcase for Donato's instrumental virtuosity and facility for melodically infectious songcraft.

Bridging Nashville and the Great West, Kentucky and mid-60s northern California, tie-dye and plaid, it's a world of his own, and a wide world of musical adventure at that. While growing up in Nashville his  father, who turned his young son on to music of all genres, suggested the fledgling and industriously minded (even at just 14) artist start busking in Nashville's lower Broadway area and outside concerts, for eight hours at a time on the weekends.

One night, the two happened by Robert’s Western World where legendary honky-tonk local mainstay the Don Kelly Band were performing. Donato eventually became a member of the band, playing four hours a night at Robert's (464 shows in total).

Horizons is the follow up to 2023’s Reflector, which received critical acclaim from a wide range of press, including No Depression, Glide Magazine, Magnet Magazine, and more.

Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country made their network television debut on CBS Saturday Morning and appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #LateShowMeMusic online series. The whole package of player, singer, writer and band leader was in place. Three albums in, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, featuring Nathan “Sugarlegg” Aronowitz (keyboards/guitars/vocals), Will “Mustang” McGee (bass/vocals) and Will “Bronco” Clark(drums, percussion/vocals)are selling out venues throughout the country and bringing their brand of Cosmic Country to an ever growing, passionate fanbase.