Daniel Donato was only a teenager the first time he stopped me dead in my tracks. It was a random night in 2013 at Robert’s Western World, the last true honky-tonk on Broadway in Nashville, and Donato was mesmerizing the beer-drinking crowd with his solo in the Allman Brothers’ “Ramblin’ Man.” At the time, the New Jersey native was filling the role of lead guitar prodigy in the Don Kelley Band, a group known for its lifer frontman and a revolving door of young, hotshot guitarists.
But there was something about Donato, all fresh-faced and long-haired, that stood out. Whether he was chicken-pickin’ through “Workin’ Man Blues” or summoning the high desert gallop of “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” the sounds he pulled out of his Telecaster struck a nerve like nothing else on Broadway. And the fact that he looked even younger than the 18-year-old he was then, only made it more surreal: Yes, the best musicians in the world really do play in Nashville, Tennessee. When the tip bucket was passed around, patrons reached for their wallets, not avoided eye contact.
Donato is 31 now and has only matured as a player. He can still rip out a blistering solo in a Haggard or Allmans standard, but it’s the ability to really let loose, especially on his own material, that shows just how much Donato can do when free of the confines of a bar set.
Ironically, he and his group, Cosmic Country, go back to the bar — Robert’s specifically — on his new three-disc live album, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country: Ryman to Robert’s, out now. (He’ll drop a mini-doc about the shows this Saturday.)
Recorded Aug. 22, 2025, the set captures Donato and his whip-smart band onstage at the Ryman Auditorium for a full 20-song set, then follows them down the Ryman’s artist staircase, across the alley, and into the backdoor of Robert’s Western World for a late-night jam. It connects the dots of Donato’s career, but backwards: from headlining Nashville’s most famous venue to returning to his roots on Robert’s postage-stamp-sized stage.
While Ryman to Robert’s will satisfy many a country listener — the chugging rhythm and rail-riding imagery of the original “Blame the Train,” or the rootsy raveup of the gospel traditional “I Saw the Light” — jam-band fans should be particularly transfixed. Because Donato knows how to take you on a trip. Listen to the 15-minute “Fortunate Sparrow,” an ethereal journey into the sky powered by a psychedelic solo that gives way to a piano and organ break by keys man Nathan “Sugar Legg” Aronowitz.
All of Donato’s Cosmic Country have Old West nicknames: Will McGee on bass is “Mustang”; drummer William Clark is “Bronco. It underscores the playful nature of the crew’s music. This isn’t wank-off, look-what-I-can-do jams, but rather freewheeling experiments worth celebrating. “Hangman’s Reel,” in all its 11-minute instrumental glory, manifests euphoria, both in the audibly elated crowd at the Ryman that night, and when you crank it up at home. “Dance in the Desert,” meanwhile, kickstarts a funky dance-party with McGee’s bass line and Clark’s relentless beat, before Donato takes it deep into Joshua Tree with a transcendent solo.
The Ryman section of the album wraps up with the red-hot “Sugar Leg Rag,” another Donato instrumental that emphasizes the chemistry he shares among players. As a singer, the frontman is aware of his voice’s limitations: Donato’s is a reedy singing style that leans more bluegrass yelper than country crooner or rock wailer. Rich in real emotion, it fits snugly next to his guitar tone.
The LP, all three hours and 18 minutes of music, concludes with eight honky-tonkers onstage at Robert’s, including rambunctious renderings of “Truck Drivin’ Man” and the Mississippi Sheiks’ “Sittin’ on Top of the World.” Cosmic Country save one last jam for last, diving headlong into the Grateful Dead staple “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” and giving it their own saloon-style spin. Thirteen years later, after the jam ended in my headphones, Daniel Donato had once again stopped me dead in my tracks.
