Saturday marked one year since the death of Phil Lesh, and to mark the occasion, Daniel Donato paid his respects at The Capitol Theatre. The revived Port Chester, NY, venue became a second home to the Grateful Dead bassist, who played it over 100 times across a dozen years.
For his headlining debut at The Capitol Theatre, Donato and his Cosmic Country bandmates kept things pretty original throughout the show’s two main sets. Across 16 songs, only four were covers as the guitarist loaded the show with the original songs he’s used to carve out his psychedelic twang niche within the crowded jam band ecosystem. The band gave plenty of love to its latest album, 2025’s Horizons, with live staples “Broadside Ballad” > “Hangman’s Reel”, “Sunshine in the Rain (Strange Presence)”, “Better Deal Blues”, and “Blame the Train”.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — “Lady Justice” > “Sunshine In The Rain (Strange Presence)” — 10/25/25
Though Donato and his band had played The Cap once before—last August, opening for Leftover Salmon—that was not the last time he was on the now-iconic stage. As he reflected upon returning for the encore, he last played The Cap in March 2024 for Lesh’s 84th birthday run (some of the bassist’s final shows before passing away in October of that year), and now, here he was, on that same stage on the anniversary of Lesh’s death.
To mark such a “cosmic” coincidence (his word, not mine), Donato did something new by coming out solo with an acoustic guitar. Just as Jerry Garcia did for the only time at the other Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ, Daniel came out by his lonesome for a performance of “Rubin and Cherise”. Just like Garcia’s acoustic performances with John Kahn in the 1980s, Donato was left naked on the stage; he had no electric effects or supporting percussion to hide behind. His nubile voice rendered nearly childlike by its vulnerability, the cover debut harnessed the intimacy that made The Cap a go-to choice for Lesh and generations of his disciples.
Daniel Donato — “Rubin & Cherise” (Jerry Garcia) — 10/25/25
[Video: themeboudin]
With Will “Mustang” McGee, Nathan “Sugarleg” Aronowitz, and Will “Bronco” Clark by his side again, Donato led the band through a four-song encore of Dead and Dead-related covers. The band played to its strengths with the bustling honky-tonk piano of “Cumberland Blues”, before playing well below its usual galloping BPMs on “Loser”.
“Cumberland Blues” hadn’t been seen since October 14th, 2023, (289 shows ago) per DanielBase, while Saturday marked the first “Loser” since February 12th of this year, a gap that saw Donato play 99 shows in eight months. Finally, although it wasn’t Sunday, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country tore the ol’ building down with “Samson and Delilah” to finish the encore and the show.
Check out videos from Daniel Donato at The Capitol Theatre, including the Phil Lesh tribute, as well as a video montage the venue made for Phil. nugs All Access subscribers can rewatch the entire show on demand at no extra cost. Start streaming nugs or begin a free trial here. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
Up next for DDCC is a swing through the Midwest for stops in Indiana and Minneapolis en route to Milwaukee for the band’s Udder Invasion Halloween show on Friday at Turner Hall. Find tickets and tour dates here.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — “Cumberland Blues” (Grateful Dead) — 10/25/25
[Video: Sean Roche]
Setlist: Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 10/25/25
Set One: Lady Justice > Sunshine In The Rain (Strange Presence), Better Deal Blues, Lose Your Mind > Waymore’s Blues (Waylon Jennings) > Mystery Train (Junior Parker), Ten Feet Of Rope [1] > Double Exposure [2], Boogie Man (Speedy West, Jimmy Bryant)
Set Two: Half Moon Night, Broadside Ballad > Hangman’s Reel (Traditional), Fortunate Sparrow, Blame The Train, Dance In The Desert [2], Sugar Shack [3]
Encore: Rubin And Cherise (Jerry Garcia) [4], Cumberland Blues (Grateful Dead) [5] [6] [7], Loser (Grateful Dead) [5] [8] > Samson And Delilah (Traditional) [5]
[1] Will McGee On Lead Vocals (Song)
[2] Nathan Aronowitz On Guitar And Keys (Song)
[3] Nathan Aronowitz On Lead Vocals, Guitar, And Keys (Song)
[4] FTP, Daniel Solo On Acoustic Guitar (Song)
[5] Daniel Playing Redwood DGN Guitar (Song)
[6] Daniel, Will McGee, And Nathan Aronowitz Share Lead Vocals (Song)
[7] LTP 10/14/23 (289 show gap)
[8] LTP 2/12/25 (99 show gap)