Daniel Donato expanded his\u00a0Cosmic Country during a two-night stint in San Francisco last week, welcoming\u00a0Grahame Lesh and\u00a0Reed Mathis. The band filled the Wednesday\u2013Thursday run at The Independent\u00a0with tributes to the Grateful Dead\u2018s\u00a0Bob Weir and\u00a0Phil Lesh, and vibrations of the highest frequencies.<\/p>\n
Donato, bassist\u00a0Will \u201cMustang\u201d McGee, keyboardist\/guitarist\u00a0Nathan \u201cSugar Leg\u201d Aronowitz, and drummer\u00a0Will \u201cBronco\u201d Clark stacked Wednesday\u2019s opener with nods to folk and country pillars Merle Haggard and\u00a0Marty Robbins in the first set. Bridging the country with the cosmic, the band also delivered a 24-minute \u201cFortunate Sparrow\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the second set, Sugar Leg debuted his new original \u201cPeace Ain\u2019t For Free\u201d, before Donato welcomed \u201cOne of my dearest buddies, who is a singular talent on so many voltatudes [sic] of analysis, especially musically.\u201d With that endorsement, Mathis joined in on \u201can absolutely righteous song,\u201d Bob Dylan\u2018s \u201cTangled Up in Blue\u201d.<\/p>\n
Though best known for his bass work in bands like Billy & The Kids and formerly Tea Leaf Green, Mathis wielded a hollow-bodied electric guitar for his guest spot, sharing the spotlight with Donato on both guitar and vocals for the Dylan classic. Mathis\u2019 gruff vocal delivery contrasted Donato\u2019s nubile singing as they traded the song\u2019s (many) verses, ultimately seguing into perennial set-closer \u201cTurn on Your Lovelight\u201d, with Donato taking lead vocals.<\/p>\n
Back at The Independent Thursday night, Daniel Donato brought out Phil\u2019s son Grahame Lesh toward the end of the first set. In a reversal of Mathis\u2019 situation, Grahame made his name as a guitarist in his band Midnight North and occasionally joined his dad\u2019s rotating Phil & Friends lineups. Now, in the wake of Phil\u2019s passing in 2024, Grahame takes up his father\u2019s instrument for all-star tributes<\/a> featuring generations of musicians inspired by Phil.<\/p>\n Donato would certainly be among that camp, having played with Phil a number of times<\/a> in recent years. The next generation carried the flame Thursday night at The Independent, with honky-tonk number \u201cCumberland Blues\u201d giving Cosmic Country a chance to utilize their three-part vocal harmonies. Grahame, who Donato called \u201cOne of my dearest friends in all the cosmos,\u201d then hung around for the Cosmic Country debut of \u201cBeat It on Down the Line\u201d to close the first set. The band would conclude the show\u2014sans Lesh\u2014with another nod to the Dead on \u201cSittin\u2019 on Top of the World\u201d, a 1930 country-blues song the Dead covered on their eponymous 1967 debut album.<\/p>\n Related: Daniel Donato Honors Phil Lesh At The Capitol Theatre With Dead Debut & Dust-Offs [Videos]<\/a><\/p>\n Listen to Daniel Donato bring out Reed Mathis and Grahame Lesh in the audio players below. Donato\u2019s tour continues this week with a run of Texas shows in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. Find tickets and tour dates here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Daniel Donato\u2019s Cosmic Country \u2014 The Independent \u2014 San Francisco, CA \u2014 2\/11\/26 \u2014 Full Audio Daniel Donato\u2019s Cosmic Country \u2014 The Independent \u2014 San Francisco, CA \u2014 2\/12\/26 \u2014 Full Audio
San Francisco, California (2026-02-11) by Daniel Donato\u2019s Cosmic Country<\/a><\/p>\n
San Francisco, California (2026-02-12) by Daniel Donato\u2019s Cosmic Country<\/a><\/p>\n