Daniel Donato expanded his Cosmic Country during a two-night stint in San Francisco last week, welcoming Grahame Lesh and Reed Mathis. The band filled the Wednesday–Thursday run at The Independent with tributes to the Grateful Dead‘s Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, and vibrations of the highest frequencies.
Donato, bassist Will “Mustang” McGee, keyboardist/guitarist Nathan “Sugar Leg” Aronowitz, and drummer Will “Bronco” Clark stacked Wednesday’s opener with nods to folk and country pillars Merle Haggard and Marty Robbins in the first set. Bridging the country with the cosmic, the band also delivered a 24-minute “Fortunate Sparrow”.
In the second set, Sugar Leg debuted his new original “Peace Ain’t For Free”, before Donato welcomed “One of my dearest buddies, who is a singular talent on so many voltatudes [sic] of analysis, especially musically.” With that endorsement, Mathis joined in on “an absolutely righteous song,” Bob Dylan‘s “Tangled Up in Blue”.
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’ gruff vocal delivery contrasted Donato’s nubile singing as they traded the song’s (many) verses, ultimately segueing into perennial set-closer “Turn on Your Love Light”, with Donato taking lead vocals.
Back at The Independent Thursday night, Daniel Donato brought out Phil’s son Grahame Lesh toward the end of the first set. In a reversal of Mathis’ situation, Grahame made his name as a guitarist in his band Midnight North and occasionally joined his dad’s rotating Phil & Friends lineups. Now, in the wake of Phil’s passing in 2024, Grahame takes up his father’s instrument for all-star tributes featuring generations of musicians inspired by Phil.
Donato would certainly be among that camp, having played with Phil a number of times in recent years. The next generation carried the flame Thursday night at The Independent, with honky-tonk number “Cumberland Blues” giving Cosmic Country a chance to utilize their three-part vocal harmonies. Grahame, who Donato called “One of my dearest friends in all the cosmos,” then hung around for the Cosmic Country debut of “Beat It on Down the Line” to close the first set. The band would conclude the show—sans Lesh—with another nod to the Dead on “Sittin’ on Top of the World”, a 1930 country-blues song the Dead covered on their eponymous 1967 debut album.
Related: Daniel Donato Honors Phil Lesh At The Capitol Theatre With Dead Debut & Dust-Offs [Videos]
Listen to Daniel Donato bring out Reed Mathis and Grahame Lesh in the audio players below. Donato’s tour continues this week with a run of Texas shows in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. Find tickets and tour dates here.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — The Independent — San Francisco, CA — 2/11/26 — Full Audio
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — The Independent — San Francisco, CA — 2/12/26 — Full Audio
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Setlist [via DanielBase]: Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country | The Independent | San Francisco, CA | 2/11/26
Set One: Honky Tonk Night Time Man (Merle Haggard), Darlin’ Cory (Traditional), Tennessee Tumbleweed, Fortunate Sparrow, Blame The Train, Cosmic Country Gardens, Big Iron (Marty Robbins), Dark Hollow (Bill Browning)
Set Two: Prairie Spin > Travelin’ Light (J.J. Cale), Forgotten Days > Valhalla, Peace Ain’t For Free [1] [2], Faded Lovin’, Tangled Up In Blue (Bob Dylan) [3] > Turn On Your Love Light (Bobby “Blue” Bland) [4]
Encore: Dance In The Desert [5]
[1] Nathan Aronowitz On Lead Vocals And Guitar (Song)
[2] Debut
[3] Reed Mathis On Guitar And Sharing Lead Vocals With Daniel (Song)
[4] Reed Mathis On Guitar (Song)
[5] Nathan Aronowitz On Guitar And Keys (Song)
Setlist [via DanielBase]: Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country | The Independent | San Francisco, CA | 2/12/26
Set One: Why You Been Gone So Long (Mickey Newbury), Eleven Eleven, Lasso, Fast and Loose [1], Hi-Country, Comberland Blues (Grateful Dead) [2] [3], Beat It on Down the Line (Jesse Fuller) [2] [4]
Set Two: Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms (Traditional), Running Gun (Jim Glaser, Tompall Glaser) > Translation, Rose in a Garden > Arkansas Traveler (Traditional), About the Angels > Ghost Riders in the Sky (Stan Jones) [5], Ride On [6], Cornerstone, Luck of the Draw > Sugar Leg Rag
Encore: Sittin’ on Top of the World (Walter Vinson, Lonnie Chatmon)
[1] Will McGee on lead vocals
[2] Grahame Lesh on guitar and backing vocals
[3] Daniel, Will, Nathan Aronowitz share lead vocals
[4] FTP
[5] Instrumental
[6] Nathan Aronowitz on lead vocals