On Stage: Daniel Donato is making real music

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times

Many of today’s 30-and-under music acts lack substance.

They are musicians (?) who sit in their rooms making songs on their computers and then become internet sensations with a gazillion hits on popular websites.

At the other end of the range, there are real musicians – talented singers, songwriters and instrumentalists who have worked hard on their craft and created real music without the help of AI.

These musicians are young artists who have worked their way into fans’ hearts by making sincere music and performing live at clubs, theaters and maybe even major venues.

Daniel Donato is a real musician making real music with his roadworthy band. Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country has been ripping it up since 2019.

Donato and his band will visit the area for a three-show run at the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, www.ardmoremusic.com) from September 18-20.

Donato, who turned 30 in April, has been performing his music live for almost two decades.

Donato was born in Atlantic City and lived there until 2002, when his family moved to a location outside Nashville, Tennessee. He began playing guitar in Tennessee — inspired by his experience playing the video game Guitar Hero.

“I started playing music when I was 12,” said Donato, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Nashville.

“On the first Christmas Eve after we moved to Tennessee, my dad gave me a guitar. It sat in the corner collecting dust for years.

“Then, I started playing the video game Guitar Hero – looking at a screen and holding something that resembled a guitar. It requires a lot of dexterity. It was a real experience.

“I decided to go for the real thing. My dad turned me on to all these great archival guitarists – Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers. I took a great liking to guitar.

“Those players stuck with me and gave me my first foundation of guitar.

“We lived just outside Nashville – about an hour away. My dad suggested I go to Nashville and start busking there.”

Donato liked the idea. Trips to Nashville became regular occurrences for Donato and his dad. Donato started busking in Nashville’s lower Broadway area for eight hours at a time on the weekends.

The younger Donato began busking on the streets of Nashville, earning money to buy guitars and amps and learning more about music.

“One night, I passed a bar called Legends Corner,” said Donato. “Another bar was Robert’s Western World. The stage was facing the street, and the Don Kelly Band was onstage.

“One of the guys in the band called to me and said – hey kid, come play with us. We did Bob Seger’s ‘Old Time Rock and Roll.’ And we did an Eric Clapton song – ‘Blues in ‘A’.

“It was my first time playing a Telecaster — through a Fender amplifier no less. That was an epochal moment of insight and potential – a real existential experience.”

A few years later, at 17, he secured a permanent gig at the legendary honky-tonk Robert’s Western World and joined local mainstay, the Don Kelly Band. He played 464 with the Don Kelly Band four nights a week, sometimes over four hours straight.

According to Donato, “I played country songs and fell in love with it. Their songbook was that of my main influences still to this day — Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Bob Wills, Marty Robbintimell Monroe, traditional bluegrass music, Hank Williams Sr. — old-timey music with real stories and emotions that everybody has. It just hooked me right away.”

The band is known for playing rowdy and danceable three hour-plus shows that take the audience on a journey through a cosmic Country world that include covers of country along with outlaw country, rhythm and blues, rock and soul.

The band’s discography includes “Starlight” [EP] (2019), “A Young Man’s Country” (2020), “Cosmic Country & Western Songs” (2021), “Reflector” and “Horizons” (2025).

“The ‘Reflector” was about the collective experience that happened in my life,” said Donato. “The songs are reflections of that time – all that time being on the road.”

The album explores physical and psychological experiences.

According to Donato, “The ‘Reflector” album reflects the work I did on myself and the work I did on my art. I really started discovering new psychological and ritual domains I wasn’t really aware of.

“The whole concept of ‘Reflector’ is of a duality. The entire world that you see externally is a reflection of your internal world, so you have this internal world you exist in and this external world you exist in, and that’s what this work is about. I like dualities; it allows me to see where each side of the fence post is, and I can paint in the middle.”

Donato released “Horizons,” his third album with his backing band Cosmic Country, on August 22. That same night he played his first headlining gig at the Ryman Auditorium just around the corner where he started busking years ago.

“I recorded the album at Sputnik Sound, and it was produced by Vance Powell,” said Donato.

Sputnik Sound is the private production and mix studios of Mitch Dane and Vance Powell located in Nashville. Powell is a six-time Grammy Award winner whose eclectic resume ranges from Chris Stapleton and Martina McBride to Phish and Clutch to Buddy Guy and the White Stripes.

“Vance was on damn near every record I enjoyed,” said Donato. “He seemed like the only logical choice to take a band that has country songs and old-timey folk songs that also jams and organize it into a digestible piece.”

The band, the studio and the producer proved to be the right combination for “Horizons.”

“The reach for ‘Horizons’ is a faith reach,” said Donato. “Faith is a word that means something to everybody. It’s a core idea of American value. People can trust me, and I love that trust.”

Donato’s touring band features the same musicians that joined him at Sputnik Sound.

“It’s a cosmic band,” said Donato. “We have ‘Sugar Legg’ (Nathan Aronowitz) on keyboards and vocals), “Mustang” (Will McGee) on bass and vocals), “Bronco” (William Clark) on drums and percussion and me on guitar and vocals.

“We’ll be playing many of the songs from ‘Horizons’ and ‘Reflector’ as well as older tracks. We have a general pool of songs with about 150 songs.”

Video link for Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — https://youtu.be/4GRBrEqtH20.

The shows at Ardmore Music Hall will start at 8 p.m. each night.

Tickets are $42.

On September 21, the Ardmore Music Hall will host Hayes Carll’s “We’re Only Human Fall 2025 Tour.” “We’re Only Human” is Carll’s 10th album.

His debut album was “Flowers & Liquor” in 2002 followed by “Little Rock” in 2005. He has released three albums in the last five years – “Alone Together Sessions” in 2020, “You Get It All” in 2021 and “We’re Only Human,” which was just released on August 8.

Carll recorded “Little Rock” in Nashville with producer R.S. Field. Alongside his manager at the time, Mike Crowley, he founded HWY 87 Records to release the album, which made history as the first self-released record to reach number one on the Americana Radio Chart.

“That was great,” said Carll, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Nashville. “It certainly felt good to hear myself on the radio.”

Carll’s next two albums – “Trouble in Mind” (2008) and “KMAG YOYO” (2011) – were released on Lost Highway Records.

“Getting signed to Lost Highway was a big deal,” said Carll, who spent the early years of his career performing cover songs for tips in the bars of Crystal Beach, Texas, located on the Bolivar Peninsula.

“I was always a music fan growing up,” said Carll. “I went to a show when I was 14 and heard a folk trio playing some Dylan songs. Right then, I asked my parents to get me a guitar. I was all-in from then on.

“I was writing before then – poetry, short stories, song lyrics. Then, I heard music by Kris Kristofferson and John Prine and that was a big influence.

“When I got out of college, I was unemployable. I had no plans other than to write songs. I played in bars for tips in Galveston.”

One of those bars was The Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe in Galveston – a small yet prestigious venue run by Wrecks Bell, the longtime bassist for Townes Van Zandt.

“The Old Quarter Acoustic Café was a great place to play my own music,” said Carll. “And it was a great place to hear other talented acts perform.

“My first album was ‘Flowers & Liquor’ in 2002. My career has been a gradual build ever since.”

Over the years, Carll has earned praise from critics, peers, and fans alike. His work has been recognized by the Americana Music Association, nominated for a Grammy, and championed by The New York Times and Pitchfork.

His songs have been recorded by the likes of Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, and Brothers Osborne—but it’s his own delivery that leaves the lasting mark. Through his records and live shows, Carll has become one of Americana’s most beloved voices—not by chasing trends, but by staying true to himself.

At the heart of it, Carll is a storyteller with a songwriter’s soul –always chasing truth, sometimes stumbling into grace, and never losing sight of the power in simply being human.

His songs are filled with snapshots of quiet clarity, hard-won insight, and wry observation.

“I recorded ‘We’re Only Human’ in the winter of 2024,” said Carll. “We recorded it at Finishing School, a studio in Austin, Texas.

“The studio is owned by my friend Gordy Quist. He’s also the guitarist in Band of Heathens. We also play together in Hayes and Heathens.

“I recorded most of it live. We had some guest vocalists after the fact and also added some horns. I was trying to come from an honest place.

‘For this tour, we’ll be out for about three weeks. I try not to stay out longer because the band members all have families and other projects.

“We have a six-piece band onstage. We have three guys from Austin – Mike Meadows on drums, Noah Jeffries on fiddle and mandolin and Scott Davis, who I went to high school with, on guitar.

“The band has two players from Nashville – Jared Reynolds on bass and background vocals and Thayer Sarrano on keyboards. I sing and play acoustic and electric guitar.”

Video link for Hayes Carll — https://youtu.be/vWKc3fAEMdo.

The show in Ardmore on September 21, which has Jonathan Terrell as the opening act, will start at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $33.

The Lucky Losers are a San Francisco-based band that spends a lot of time on the road taking their music to fans across the country.

On September 21, the Lucky Losers – Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz — will make a return visit to Jamey’s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com).

Winners of five Independent Blues Award in 2021 including “Artist of the Year” (Cathy Lemons), “Song of the Year” (Godless Land), The Lucky Losers are San Francisco’s finest male/female duet fronted band — a throwback to the hybrid of soul, blues, rock, gospel, and country that emerged in the late 1960’s

Since 2015, The Lucky Losers have completed numerous national tours, performing on stages in over 46 states. Their artistic achievements have garnered six national awards, 25 award nominations, and two International Songwriting Competition prizes as Finalists (2018 and 2020).

“We try to get to the East Coast at least once a year,” said Lemons, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from the couple’s home in the Bay Area.

The band’s origin dates back 12 years to a chance meeting in San Francisco.

“Our paths crossed at a bar,” said Lemons. “It was at The Saloon in San Francisco. I was putting up posters and he asked me if I wanted to do a gig with him.

“I took the gig. We discovered that we had similar tastes in music. We also learned that we were both recently divorced so we had a lot in common.”

Berkowitz said, “With my divorce, I realized a lot of it came up in my songs. I was touring by myself a lot. Then, within a year, I was out on the road with the Lucky Losers.”

Lemons said, “On the road, our singing voices worked together really well. We won a Bay Area IBC Award. We started touring with the band in 2015.”

The chemistry between the two was evident right from the beginning.

“She thought I just did up-tempo swing,” said Berkowitz, who grew up in the South Orange area in New Jersey.

“With Cathy, I didn’t know what she did except that it was Texas-style blues. We realized our taste in blues music meshed together well.”

Lemons said, “We listened to a lot of duets. Phil’s voice can go high and low.

“We love American music from the 1960s and 1970s – and blues. We particularly like to write our own music. Both of us write really well.”

The Lucky Losers’ debut album was “A Winning Hand” in 2015 followed by the “It Ain’t Enough EP” in 2016 and “Blind Spot” in 2018.

The band’s discography also includes “Godless Land” (2020), “May Every Day Be Christmas” (2020), “Down in Memphis Town” (2022) and “Standing Pat” (2022).

“We finally got to all originals,” said Lemons. “There were 10 originals on ‘Godless Land’ and then ‘Standing Pat’ was our first album of all originals.”

Berkowitz said, “We like to pace ourselves off classic blues and R&B people like Gamble and Huff.”

The Lucky Losers are about to make fans happy with a new album release before the end of the year.

“Our sixth studio album, ‘Arrival,’ will be released on November 7,” said Lemons. “We recorded it with Kid Andersen at his Greaseland Studio in San Jose.

“Kid produced the album and played a lot on the album. He’s really versatile and plays about 10 instruments. He also has perfect pitch, so he helps us with the harmonies.”

Berkowitz said, “We tour with a six-piece band that can play soul, blues, rock, Americana and gospel. Blues is never going to be left behind. We love to play this kind of music.”

Video link for The Lucky Losers – https://youtu.be/gwsYToZDaxk.

The show at Jamey’s on September 21 will start at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $20.

Other upcoming shows at the venue are Katie Henry on September 19 and Steve Shanahan’s Blues Muthas on September 22.

Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) is hosting Ellis Paul on September 19.

Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org) is presenting Paul Jost on September 18, Avi Wisnia on September 19 and the musical “A Chorus Line” now through September 28.

The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, 302- 475-2313, www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org) is in the first full weekend of its latest run – “Ragtime: The Musical.” The show is running now through October 26.

Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com) will have Crystal Bowersox on September 18,  Friko with the Tisburys on September 19 and The Land of Ozz: Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne on September 20.

The 32nd annual XPoNential Music Festival September 19-21 at Wiggins Park on the Camden waterfront (xpnfest.org).

The lineup for September 19 includes Fawziyya Heart, Southern Avenue and SNACKTIME on the Marina Stage, and Black Buttafly, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and WAR on the River Stage.

On September 20, the River Stage will present Sadie Gust, Owen Stewart, Soccer Mommy, Molly Tuttle and Sharon Van Etten. The Marina Stage lineup features Maxwell Stern & The Good Light Band, Tune-Yards, Richard Thompson and Kathleen Edwards.