Daniel Donato rode into Colorado this week for a three-night run at the Boulder Theater, where local ambassador Bill Nershi welcomed Donato and his Cosmic Country bandoleros. The String Cheese Incident frontman assisted in the DDCC debut of “High On A Mountain”, an old folk song that the late Phil Lesh bolstered with new lyrics to play with Furthur.
After bassist Will “Mustang” McGee started the second set with Hank Williams‘ “Honky Tonk Blues”, the band brought out Nershi. This wasn’t their first collaboration of the day, Nershi revealed, as he hosted Donato at the SCI Sound Lab studio that afternoon. These collaborations come a little over three months since Nershi last joined the Cosmic Country during the band’s two-night run in Boulder back in November 2025.
Nershi helmed lead vocals on Furthur tune “High On A Mountain”. Originally written by Ola Bella Read, Phil and his son Brian Lesh added new verses when the Grateful Dead spin-off band introduced the song in 2010.
“Knowing how incredibly powerful traditional songs can be (see; I Know You Rider, Long Black Veil, etc.), my dad came up with a beautiful new rendition of the song,” Brian said of the song. “However, the one problem was that the song was too short. Ola Belle Reed’s version only had two verses, and the universe doesn’t allow Furthur to play a song under five minutes long. I was given the honor of solving this problem, and soon came up with three new verses. While the original song was something of a sad love story, I aimed for a different type of love, that of brothers.”
Though a bit too far apart to be brothers, there was certainly some kind of love between Nershi and Donato as they joined together for “High On A Mountain”. From that common thread of Phil and folk music, the expanded ensemble then veered off into their respective niches. Donato took the lead on “Railroad Bill”, a traditional tune and favorite of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott that DDCC honky tonked up a bit. Then, railroad Bill himself took the reins on “Sittin’ On Top of the World”, as set forth by bluegrass luminary Doc Watson, after which Nershi pulled out of the station and departed.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — Boulder Theater — Boulder, CO — 2/26/26 — Full Audio
[Audio: jerryfreak]
While the Bill Nershi sit-in was definitely the highlight of Thursday’s Daniel Donato finale in Boulder, there’s one more thing we should mention. At various points in the show, members of the band began playing their instruments with pieces of produce. First, it was Nathan “Sugar Leg” Aronowitz playing his keyboard with an apple during “Sugar Shack”. Then, in the second set-closing “Dance in the Desert”, Will “Bronco” Clark started beating his drums with carrots, only for Donato himself to join in and do the same.
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The night prior, Will McGee had played his bass with a carrot (possibly the same one) during “Sugar Leg Rag”. It’s not immediately clear what created this new wave of playing, but it’s probably safe to say we could all stand to eat more vegetables.
Catch Daniel Donato this weekend at The Surf Hotel in Buena Vista, and maybe stop by the grocery store first.
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Setlist [via DanielBase]: Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country | Boulder Theater | Boulder, CO | 2/26/26
Set One: Sunshine In The Rain (Strange Presence), Lady Justice, Forgotten Days > Valhalla, Sugar Shack [1] [2], Always Been A Lover, For A Long Time [3] > Chore
Set Two: Honky Tonk Blues (Hank Williams) [4], High On A Mountain (Ola Belle Read, Phil Lesh) [4] [5] [6], Railroad Bill (Traditional) [4] [7], Sittin’ On Top Of The World (Traditional) [4] [5], Fortunate Sparrow [4], Down Bedford, Tumbling Tumbleweeds (Sons of the Pioneers) > Dance In The Desert [8] [9] [10]
Encore: All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan)
[1] Nathan Aronowitz On Lead Vocals, Guitar, And Keys (Song)
[2] Nathan Aronowitz Playing Keys With An Apple 🍎 (Song)
[3] Will McGee On Lead Vocals (Song)
[4] Will McGee On Upright Bass (Song)
[5] Bill Nershi on Vocals And Acoustic Guitar (Song)
[6] FTP
[7] Bill Nershi on Acoustic Guitar (Song)
[8] Nathan Aronowitz On Guitar And Keys (Song)
[9] Will Clark Playing Drums With Carrots 🥕 (Song)
[10] Will Clark Drum Solo Into Daniel Playing Drums With Carrot 🥕 (Song)