Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Cris Jacobs

When people first meet Daniel Donato, theyre not fully braced for this walking tornado of creative energy. They think theres something that tips the scale in ways they dont understand, says Donato about his over-the-top, slightly manic vibe. But what actually tips the scale is the amount of thought and analysis I put into my work and art, all of which is taken from the lessons of my life.Donato, a 25-year-old Nashville native, has distilled those life lessons into his debut album, A Young Mans Country, his proper introduction to the general musical audience. Recorded at Nashvilles Sound Emporium in a mere two days and produced by guitar-ace Robben Ford, the record weaves outlaw country, Grateful Dead-style Americana, and first-rate songwriting into a singular form Donato calls 21st-century cosmic country. It might surprise some that the Telecaster-wielding wunderkind, who at 16 became the youngest musician to regularly play the iconic honky tonk Roberts Western World while gigging with the Don Kelley Band, began his musical journey in a purely millennial fashion. Before he ever picked up a guitar, he discovered he had an aptitude for music via the video game Guitar Hero. At the time, he didnt feel compelled to try his hand at the real thing until one day, about the age of 12, he heard the electric perfection of Guns N Roses Paradise City blast from a set of speakers and his world was changed forever.