Daniel Donato delivered a barn burner of cosmic proportions on Halloween at Milwaukee’s Turner Hall Ballroom.
After setting the scene with an opening narration introducing the McDernald Brothers, Donato and his Cosmic Country bandmates kicked things off with a playful rendition of a classic nursery rhyme with a twist, turning “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” into a song about Old McDernald. The first set was packed with farm-related references and cover debuts, from Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm” and “Country Boy” to Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Snake Farm” and a set-closing sandwich of “Weathervane” > Black Sabbath‘s “War Pigs” > “Weathervane”.
A visit from some extraterrestrial farmhands was reflected in the second set as the farm theme shifted to alien imagery, starting with Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “It Came Out of the Sky”. The band opened the set with Dennis Linde‘s “John Deere Green” (recorded and popularized by Joe Diffie) before a green martian dressed in overalls and a wide-brim hat sang “Bein’ Green” (written by Joe Raposo and identified on the Muppet wiki as “one of Kermit the Frog’s best-known songs”).
After fending off an alien invasion, the McDernald Brothers celebrated with a funky “Prairie Spin”. Jimi Hendrix‘s “Fire” then kicked off a string of classic rock cover debuts that included AC/DC‘s “Back in Black” and Pink Floyd‘s “Brain Damage”. The aliens returned to join in on Dick Robinson‘s “The Boppin’ Martian” before “Tell Me I’m a Lover” and Bobby “Blue” Bland‘s “Turn On Your Love Light” (a Grateful Dead staple) assured the crowd that they came in peace this time around.
A pairing of Eiffel 65‘s “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” and “Dance in the Desert” energized the dance floor before the evening wound down with John Denver‘s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” > Bill Monroe‘s “The Gold Rush”, followed by Chuck Berry‘s “Promised Land” in the encore slot.
Check out fan-shot videos and click below to view a gallery of photos courtesy of Daniel Ojeda. The entire show is available to stream on nugs. don’t have an All Access subscription? Sign up for 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!]
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country – “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”, “Half Moon Night” – 10/31/25
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country — Turner Hall Ballroom — Milwaukee, WI — 10/31/25 — Full Audio
Setlist: Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country | Turner Hall Ballroom | Milwaukee, WI | 10/31/25
Set 1: Old MacDonald Had a Farm (FTP), Half Moon Night, Maggie’s Farm (Bob Dylan) (FTP), Cosmic Country Gardens, Lose Your Mind, Country Boy (Bob Dylan) (FTP), Snake Farm (Ray Wylie Hubbard) > Weathervane > War Pigs (Black Sabbath) > Weathervane (Reprise)
Set 2: It Came Out of the Sky (Creedence Clearwater Revival ) (FTP), John Deere Green (Dennis Linde) (FTP), Bein’ Green (FTP), Prairie Spin, Fire (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) (FTP), Back in Black (AC/DC) (FTP), Brain Damage (Pink Floyd) (FTP), The Boppin’ Martian (Dick Robinson) (FTP), Tell Me I’m a Lover, Turn On Your Love Light (Bobby “Blue” Bland) (FTP), Blue (Da Ba Dee) (Eiffel 65) > Dance in the Desert, Thank God I’m a Country Boy (John Denver) (FTP) > The Gold Rush (Bill Monroe)
Encore: Promised Land (Chuck Berry) (FTP)
Note: billed as: ‘The McDernald Brothers’
