{"id":44755,"date":"2025-09-19T09:16:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T13:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=44755"},"modified":"2025-09-19T09:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T13:16:11","slug":"on-stage-daniel-donato-is-making-real-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=44755","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Daniel Donato is making real music"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong> Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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Daniel Donato<\/p><\/div>\n

Many of today\u2019s 30-and-under music acts lack substance.<\/p><\/div>\n

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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.<\/div>\n
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At the other end of the range, there are real musicians \u2013 talented singers, songwriters and instrumentalists who have worked hard on their craft and created real music without the help of AI.<\/div>\n
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These musicians are young artists who have worked their way into fans\u2019 hearts by making sincere music and performing live at clubs, theaters and maybe even major venues.<\/div>\n

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Daniel Donato is a real musician making real music with his roadworthy band. Daniel Donato\u2019s Cosmic Country has been ripping it up since 2019.<\/div>\n
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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<\/a><\/u>) from September 18-20.<\/div>\n
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Donato, who turned 30 in April, has been performing his music live for almost two decades.<\/div>\n
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Donato was born in\u00a0Atlantic City and lived there until 2002, when his family moved to a location outside\u00a0Nashville, Tennessee. He began playing guitar in Tennessee — inspired by his experience playing the video game\u00a0Guitar Hero.<\/div>\n
\u201cI started playing music when I was 12,\u201d said Donato, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Nashville.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOn the first Christmas Eve after we moved to Tennessee, my dad gave me a guitar. It sat in the corner collecting dust for years.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThen, I started playing the video game Guitar Hero \u2013 looking at a screen and holding something that resembled a guitar. It requires a lot of dexterity. It was a real experience.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI decided to go for the real thing. My dad turned me on to all these great archival guitarists \u2013 Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers. I took a great liking to guitar.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThose players stuck with me and gave me my first foundation of guitar.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe lived just outside Nashville \u2013 about an hour away. My dad suggested I go to Nashville and start busking there.\u201d<\/div>\n
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.<\/div>\n
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The younger Donato began busking<\/a><\/u>\u00a0on the streets of Nashville, earning money to buy guitars and amps and learning more about music.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOne night, I passed a bar called Legends Corner,\u201d said Donato. \u201cAnother bar was Robert\u2019s Western World. The stage was facing the street, and the Don Kelly Band was onstage.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOne of the guys in the band called to me and said \u2013 hey kid, come play with us. We did Bob Seger\u2019s \u2018Old Time Rock and Roll.\u2019 And we did an Eric Clapton song \u2013 \u2018Blues in \u2018A\u2019.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt was my first time playing a Telecaster — through a Fender amplifier no less. That was an epochal moment of insight and potential \u2013 a real existential experience.\u201d<\/div>\n
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A few years later, at 17, he secured a permanent gig at the legendary\u00a0honky-tonk\u00a0Robert\u2019s Western World\u00a0and joined local mainstay, the\u00a0Don Kelly Band. He played 464 with the Don Kelly Band four nights a week, sometimes over four hours straight.<\/div>\n
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According to Donato, \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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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,\u00a0rhythm and blues, rock and soul.<\/div>\n
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The band\u2019s discography includes \u201cStarlight\u201d\u00a0[EP] (2019), \u201cA Young Man\u2019s Country\u201d\u00a0(2020), \u201cCosmic Country & Western Songs\u201d\u00a0(2021), \u201cReflector\u201d and \u201cHorizons\u201d (2025).<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe \u2018Reflector\u201d was about the collective experience that happened in my life,\u201d said Donato. \u201cThe songs are reflections of that time \u2013 all that time being on the road.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The album explores physical and psychological experiences.<\/div>\n
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According to Donato, \u201cThe \u2018Reflector\u201d 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\u2019t really aware of.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe whole concept of \u2018Reflector\u2019 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\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Donato released \u201cHorizons,\u201d 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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI recorded the album at Sputnik Sound, and it was produced by Vance Powell,\u201d said Donato.<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cVance was on damn near every record I enjoyed,\u201d said Donato. \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The band, the studio and the producer proved to be the right combination for \u201cHorizons.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe reach for \u2018Horizons\u2019 is a faith reach,\u201d said Donato. \u201cFaith is a word that means something to everybody. It\u2019s a core idea of American value. People can trust me, and I love that trust.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Donato\u2019s touring band features the same musicians that joined him at Sputnik Sound.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s a cosmic band,\u201d said Donato. \u201cWe have \u2018Sugar Legg\u2019 (Nathan Aronowitz) on keyboards and vocals), \u201cMustang\u201d (Will McGee) on bass and vocals), \u201cBronco\u201d (William Clark) on drums and percussion and me on guitar and vocals.<\/div>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be playing many of the songs from \u2018Horizons\u2019 and \u2018Reflector\u2019 as well as older tracks. We have a general pool of songs with about 150 songs.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Daniel Donato\u2019s Cosmic Country — https:\/\/youtu.be\/4GRBrEqtH20<\/a><\/u>.<\/div>\n
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The shows at Ardmore Music Hall will start at 8 p.m. each night.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $42.<\/div>\n
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Hayes Carll<\/p><\/div>\n

On September 21, the Ardmore Music Hall will host Hayes Carll\u2019s \u201cWe\u2019re Only Human Fall 2025 Tour.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re Only Human\u201d is Carll\u2019s 10th album.<\/p><\/div>\n

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His debut album was \u201cFlowers & Liquor\u201d in 2002 followed by \u201cLittle Rock\u201d in 2005. He has released three albums in the last five years \u2013 \u201cAlone Together Sessions\u201d in 2020, \u201cYou Get It All\u201d in 2021 and \u201cWe\u2019re Only Human,\u201d which was just released on August 8.<\/div>\n
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Carll recorded \u201cLittle Rock\u201d 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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThat was great,\u201d said Carll, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Nashville. \u201cIt certainly felt good to hear myself on the radio.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Carll\u2019s next two albums \u2013 \u201cTrouble in Mind\u201d (2008) and \u201cKMAG YOYO\u201d (2011) \u2013 were released on Lost Highway Records.<\/div>\n
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\u201cGetting signed to Lost Highway was a big deal,\u201d said Carll, who spent the early years of his career performing cover songs for tips in the bars of\u00a0Crystal Beach, Texas, located on the Bolivar Peninsula.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI was always a music fan growing up,\u201d said Carll. \u201cI 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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI was writing before then \u2013 poetry, short stories, song lyrics. Then, I heard music by Kris Kristofferson and John Prine and that was a big influence.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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One of those bars was The Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe\u00a0in Galveston \u2013 a small yet prestigious venue run by Wrecks Bell, the longtime bassist for\u00a0Townes Van Zandt.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Old Quarter Acoustic Caf\u00e9 was a great place to play my own music,\u201d said Carll. \u201cAnd it was a great place to hear other talented acts perform.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy first album was \u2018Flowers & Liquor\u2019 in 2002. My career has been a gradual build ever since.\u201d<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
His songs have been recorded by the likes of Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, and Brothers Osborne\u2014but it\u2019s his own delivery that leaves the lasting mark. Through his records and live shows, Carll has become one of Americana\u2019s most beloved voices\u2014not by chasing trends, but by staying true to himself.<\/div>\n
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At the heart of it, Carll is a storyteller with a songwriter\u2019s soul –always chasing truth, sometimes stumbling into grace, and never losing sight of the power in simply being human.<\/div>\n
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His songs are filled with snapshots of quiet clarity, hard-won insight, and wry observation.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI recorded \u2018We\u2019re Only Human\u2019 in the winter of 2024,\u201d said Carll. \u201cWe recorded it at Finishing School, a studio in\u00a0Austin, Texas.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe studio is owned by my friend Gordy Quist. He\u2019s also the guitarist in Band of Heathens. We also play together in Hayes and Heathens.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI 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.<\/div>\n
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\u2018For this tour, we\u2019ll be out for about three weeks. I try not to stay out longer because the band members all have families and other projects.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe have a six-piece band onstage. We have three guys from Austin \u2013 Mike Meadows on drums, Noah Jeffries on fiddle and mandolin and Scott Davis, who I went to high school with, on guitar.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe band has two players from Nashville \u2013 Jared Reynolds on bass and background vocals and Thayer Sarrano on keyboards. I sing and play acoustic and electric guitar.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Hayes Carll — https:\/\/youtu.be\/vWKc3fAEMdo<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show in Ardmore on September 21, which has Jonathan Terrell as the opening act, will start at 7 p.m.<\/div>\n
Tickets are $33.<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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On September 21, the Lucky Losers \u2013 Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz — will make a return visit to Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a><\/u><\/i>).<\/div>\n
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Winners of five Independent Blues Award in 2021 including \u201cArtist of the Year\u201d (Cathy Lemons), \u201cSong of the Year\u201d (Godless Land), The Lucky Losers are San Francisco\u2019s finest male\/female duet fronted band — a throwback to the hybrid of soul, blues, rock, gospel, and country that emerged in the late 1960\u2019s<\/div>\n
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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).<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe try to get to the East Coast at least once a year,\u201d said Lemons, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from the couple\u2019s home in the Bay Area.<\/div>\n
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The band\u2019s origin dates back 12 years to a chance meeting in San Francisco.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOur paths crossed at a bar,\u201d said Lemons. \u201cIt 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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Berkowitz said, \u201cWith 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Lemons said, \u201cOn the road, our singing voices worked together really well. We won a Bay Area IBC Award. We started touring with the band in 2015.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The chemistry between the two was evident right from the beginning.<\/div>\n
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\u201cShe thought I just did up-tempo swing,\u201d said Berkowitz, who grew up in the South Orange area in New Jersey.<\/div>\n
\u201cWith Cathy, I didn\u2019t know what she did except that it was Texas-style blues. We realized our taste in blues music meshed together well.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Lemons said, \u201cWe listened to a lot of duets. Phil\u2019s voice can go high and low.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe love American music from the 1960s and 1970s \u2013 and blues. We particularly like to write our own music. Both of us write really well.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The Lucky Losers\u2019 debut album was \u201cA Winning Hand\u201d in 2015 followed by the \u201cIt Ain’t Enough EP\u201d in 2016 and \u201cBlind Spot\u201d in 2018.<\/div>\n
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The band\u2019s discography also includes \u201cGodless Land\u201d (2020), \u201cMay Every Day Be Christmas\u201d (2020), \u201cDown in Memphis Town\u201d (2022) and \u201cStanding Pat\u201d (2022).<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe finally got to all originals,\u201d said Lemons. \u201cThere were 10 originals on \u2018Godless Land\u2019 and then \u2018Standing Pat\u2019 was our first album of all originals.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Berkowitz said, \u201cWe like to pace ourselves off classic blues and R&B people like Gamble and Huff.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The Lucky Losers are about to make fans happy with a new album release before the end of the year.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOur sixth studio album, \u2018Arrival,\u2019 will be released on November 7,\u201d said Lemons. \u201cWe recorded it with Kid Andersen at his Greaseland Studio in San Jose.<\/div>\n
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\u201cKid produced the album and played a lot on the album. He\u2019s really versatile and plays about 10 instruments. He also has perfect pitch, so he helps us with the harmonies.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Berkowitz said, \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for The Lucky Losers \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/gwsYToZDaxk<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at Jamey\u2019s on September 21 will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $20.<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at the venue are Katie Henry on September 19 and Steve Shanahan\u2019s Blues Muthas on September 22.<\/div>\n
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Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a><\/u>) is hosting Ellis Paul on September 19.<\/div>\n
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Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a><\/u>) is presenting Paul Jost on September 18, Avi Wisnia on September 19 and the musical \u201cA Chorus Line\u201d now through September 28.<\/div>\n
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The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware,\u00a0302- 475-2313, www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a><\/u>) is in the first full weekend of its latest run \u2013 \u201cRagtime: The Musical.\u201d The show is running now through October 26.<\/div>\n
Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com<\/a><\/u><\/i>) will have Crystal Bowersox on September 18, \u00a0Friko with the Tisburys on September 19 and The Land of Ozz: Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne on September 20.<\/div>\n
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The 32nd annual\u00a0XPoNential Music Festival September 19-21 at Wiggins Park on the Camden waterfront (xpnfest.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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The River Stage on September 21 will host Zinadelphia, Spin Doctors, Greensky Bluegrass and Courtney Barnett, while Emily Drinker, Michigander, Daniel Donato\u2019s Cosmic Country and Craig Finn headline the Marina Stage. Gates open at noon.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Many of today\u2019s 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 \u2013 talented singers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[14446,6518,15271],"class_list":["post-44755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-daniel-donato","tag-featured","tag-hayes-carll"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44755"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44756,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44755\/revisions\/44756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}