If you’re unfamiliar with Cosmic Country, you’ve probably unknowingly had a bit of an introduction to it. Daniel Donato, who’s bringing his brand of Cosmic Country to the Granada on Thursday, essentially chalks it up to being authentically American. The longtime (and very busy) musician has been playing guitar full-time since his teen years, starting with busking at 12 years-old before clocking in more than 400 gigs with the Don Kelley band. Now, four albums and one EP later, he’s heading out on tour in support of this latest album, Horizons.
Donato’s Cosmic Country blends country and psychedelia. Donato, who Rolling Stone calls Nasvhille’s newest guitar hero, sees this as a natural progression from genres born in the U.S. “Born in this country was jazz, hip-hop, Appalachian folk, songs that turned into bluegrass that turned into country that turned into Western swing… Rock and roll comes from here,” he notes. “So the way Cosmic Country comes together, in my imagination, is a natural byproduct of the country and the time that I grew up in.”
Donato’s journey through music took him through several paths in rock and roll before he eventually landed back in country, which he calls the foundation in which he learned to listen to music. “Country’s been going through a change. It becomes reflective what’s going on culturally and sociologically within America at the time,” he notes, calling upon older country songs that dealt with more escapism themes and “going through it” as he says. “It’s kind of like a chlorine stick, it gauges the content. Whatever country music sounds like on any given day, it’s like a blood test, gauging the content of the American populous.”
He thinks part of what’s getting people out and noticing Cosmic Country more are artists (like Charley Crockett, Billy Strings, and Margo Price) putting it in the spotlight. He’s hoping that’s where his work with the genre will take him. “I really want us to grow what we’re doing because we’re a living music band. We always play live, we’re always on tour. I want Cosmic Country to be in the popular discussion in what’s happening in our country today. Because right now we’re existing on this subcultural level. I love that, but I want us to be in the popular narrative.”
Though he’s heavily influenced by classic rock, Horizons takes more of a twang turn, which Donato says was part of his desire to make an album that was more succinct and away from the tech noise. “I know part of that internally fro me was wanting to have something that is very simple and very rustic, almost industrial. I think part of that is me observing the fact that people are creating authentic human interaction in different ways,” he says. “We’re just so inundate with automated systems, algorithmic processes, and artificial models. Music to me is something that has always remained sacred to society.” He notes that there’s a strong division between music listeners, and he’s hoping to bridge the gap. “Most of the people that I meet, they love love love music, and it’s not something you listen to casually… and then there’s people who don’t care, they don’t go to shows. I view it as my responsibility as an artist to make it as real as possible. Don’t lean on anything automated, don’t lean on something you can only do on the record and not do live. All of it ended up sounding more country and twangy.”
Donato, who’s know for long sets, wants to see people gravitating towards the live experience more. That’s why he’s seeing his role in live music as an act of service. “The older I get, the more I get called to be somebody who gives and delivers experiences to people they can’t get on their own… it’s truthful for them and brings beauty for them,” he says. “I think it’s important because I more or less get to be a vessel between people and the other side of the mirror. I love that because it feels like service. To me, music feels like ministry.”
Daniel Donato plays The Granada this Thursday, November 6th.