Friday would have marked the 81st birthday of Townes Van Zandt, and Daniel Donato gave the legendary singer-songwriter a memorial celebration in Cincinnati, OH. Donato’s debut at the 2,500-capacity Taft Theatre featured his first cover of “Pancho & Lefty” since December 8th, 2023 in Austin (178 shows ago), per DanielBase.
Amid a cover-heavy show that saw nods to Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, and plenty of other country icons, Donato made the “Pancho & Lefty” cover a centerpiece of the second set. The Cosmic Country guitarist included a birthday shoutout to the tragic figure, a man whose melancholy voice and wistfully reflective lyrics set the standard for half a century of folk music to follow. “Pancho & Lefty” appeared on 1972’s The Late Great Townes Van Zandt and ultimately became his most recognizable song, with Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard making it into a #1 hit on the Billboard country chart in 1983, alongside covers by Emmylou Harris, Jason Isbell, and most any singer-songwriter worth their salt.
Donato took Townes’ barebones original and spruced it up a bit with the help of his band and a nifty descending chord progression in the chorus. Though the song already shouts out Ohio, Donato localized the cover further by plugging Cinci into the line “The desert’s quiet and Cleveland’s cold.” Coming out of “Pancho & Lefty”, Donato and his band dove into a disco-inflected jam that developed into another tribute to a similarly brilliant and largely unrecognized singer-songwriter, J.J. Cale, with the Widespread Panic-favored “Travelin’ Light”.
Watch Daniel Donato pay tribute to Townes Van Zandt on what would have been his 81st birthday. Donato’s tour continues this week with shows in Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and a pair of two-night stints in Washington, D.C. and Raleigh. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on his website.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — “Pancho & Lefty” (Townes Van Zandt) > “Travelin’ Light” (J.J. Cale) — 3/7/25
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Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — “Where The Corn Don’t Grow” (Roger Murrah, Mark Alan Springer) — 3/7/25
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Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — “Honky Tonk Night Time Man” (Merle Haggard) — 3/7/25
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Setlist [via DanielBase]: Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country | Taft Theatre | Cincinnati, OH | 3/7/25
Set One: Truck Drivin’ Man (Terry Fell), Rose In A Garden > Darlin’ Cory (Traditional), Translation, Half Moon Night > I Saw The Light (Hank Williams), Half Moon Night (Reprise) > Ghost Riders In The Sky (Stan Jones) [1], Blame The Train, Cosmic Country Gardens, Lady Justice
Set Two: Lose Your Mind > Why You Been Gone So Long (Mickey Newbury) > Cigar Time (The New Mastersounds), Tell Me I’m A Lover [2], Pancho And Lefty (Townes Van Zandt) [3] > Travelin’ Light (J.J. Cale), Forgotten Days > Valhalla, Where Corn Don’t Grow (Roger Murrah, Mark Alan Springer) > Waymore’s Blues (Waylon Jennings) > Mystery Train (Junior Parker), Sunshine In The Rain (Strange Presence)
Encore: Honky Tonk Night Time Man (Merle Haggard)
[1] Instrumental
[2] Nathan Aronowitz On Lead Vocals, Guitar, And Keys (Song)
[3] LTP 12/8/23, 178 shows ago