Cosmic country crooner Daniel Donato comes to KC

Courtesy of All Eyes Media

Talk about immersion therapy! To hear him tell the tale, singer Daniel Donato cut his proverbial country chops growing up in Nashville. As a burgeoning teen performer, Donato was surrounded by scores of talented musicians—a proverbial who’s-who of veterans who helped him hone his craft within an inch of its life. 

A mere decade later, the popular Donato has become his own musical force to be reckoned with. He’s in the midst of a nationwide tour sharing songs from his newest album, Reflector.

With several newly minted television appearances under his belt, Donato’s music can’t exactly be categorized. Critics have described it as Southern rock meets bluegrass, meets classic country—with a hint of honky-tonk and folk music thrown in for posterity. It’s no wonder his ravenous fan base is so expansive.

Thankfully, the easy-going Donato seemed game to talk about pretty much anything and everything we threw at him ahead of his appearance at The Madrid Theatre this Friday

The Pitch: Right off the bat, can you pinpoint an exact date that you were like, “You know what, I’m gonna be a singer?”

Daniel Donato: I think it was the second time I ever went down to Broadway in Nashville and I saw the Don Kelly Band play at Robert’s Western World. I was 14, and it just gave me a vision of what I could do for my life and where I could apply my personality.

A true lightbulb moment?

It went off at the same time that I realized that I’ll never—I’m never going to stop doing it.

Do you have a genre of music—or a band—that fans would have absolutely no idea that you’re obsessed with?

I really love classical music. I loved Debussy and I love Django Reinhardt. Gypsy swing and that kind of stuff. I like a lot of music from the ’40s and ’50s—that’s mostly what I listen to, honestly.

Tommy Dorsey-esque?

Yes, Tommy Dorsey was totally big band—all stuff in New York and New Jersey going on in the ’20s, all the way up into the early ’50s when rock and roll started to happen.  

Courtesy of All Eyes Media

Enlighten me, what’s gypsy jazz? I have never heard of that.

It’s a fascinating thing. It was a working dance class of music that went on in the rural areas of France. And they were these really skilled musicians. They started making their way to the city to play at the nightclubs, where it’s cigarettes inside, drinking absinthe, and everyone wearing leather and gloves kind of stuff. It was mainly acoustic music, so it’s similar to a string band in the Bluegrass format, but the music was completely different. Really fantastic. Django Reinhardt is one of the best guitarists of all time. He’s one of Jerry Garcia’s favorites, Willie Nelson’s favorites, and one of mine.

Hey, tell me about cutting your baby teeth in Nashville. So how did living there allow you to blossom creatively?

It was really just the brothers and sisters that I had within music who were much more experienced than me. They were so willing to invite me on stage, into their homes, and into studio sessions to learn how to play music or listen to music. Or how to play with others, how to curate a setlist, how to write songs, what to listen for with words. That all led to a macro-positive level. 

Is it true that you’ve had some famous onlookers while busking on the street?

Yeah, I think the second or third time I ever busked on the street, Robert Plant came by and gave me some money. And I remember one time, I was playing at a bar that my friend owned downtown and Joe Walsh came in and gave me $300 to go buy cowboy boots. 

Also, the bar I played at, Robert’s, the honkey-tonk, is 24 feet from the back door of the Ryman. So, anyone who would play the Ryman would come in and see us play there four nights a week. I got to meet a lot of great artists and creative minds through that medium.

Who would you absolutely die for if they just walked in or walked up to you? For you, who’s the zenith of your country music stardom?

I would love to play with Chris Stapleton, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan. Yeah, and not in that order, just however the cards fall, as they say. 

The perfect trifecta. Okay, this is just completely random. Have you ever considered a crossover with The B-52s? They have Cosmic Thing. And you have Cosmic Country. Thus, I feel like there’s some celestial synergy there.

Courtesy Of All Eyes Media

Yeah, I’m down to find synergy wherever that happens. I mean, organically, even if I don’t understand it as it’s happening. I’m like ‘take the trip, trust the journey’ with those kinds of things. I’d love to play with The B-52s. I have several of their records on my turntable. I love it. That’s a fantastic suggestion. I’ve never heard that before. 

Well, you’re welcome, America! Hey, what do you know about KC? Are you ready to rock our fine city? 

I really enjoy Kansas City. And I think it’s just because of the people there. I get the feeling that it’s in a certain part of America where true music occurs, and people take the time to go and see it and make it happen.

Kansas City is honest—at least when it comes to music. And I know they got some crazy, little women there, and I’m gonna get me one.

Duly noted. You just had a birthday last month. But next year, you are turning the big 3-0. Are you already planning that?

I’m kind of scared, to be honest. I haven’t planned it. It kind of freaks me out.

What is the dumbest question you’ve been asked in an interview? An eyeroll-into-oblivion question?

Political questions, political questions. I play music and I’m focused on music and truthful, beautiful, good things. I just have zero interest in talking about anything political. 

I think music is something that’s discovered. And politics—especially in the way that it’s arranged now in the country—a lot of it is engineered. I really like to separate those things. It’s what makes me roll my eyes. When somebody asked me political questions. I just have no interest. 

Finally, I feel like you might have a favorite karaoke song and I need to know what it is.

I’m gonna say, “Friends In Low Places.” It’s everybody’s song. I’d go with that song. It’s not deep. It’s not like, “Let It Be” or “Hey, Jude”—which everybody does. Honestly, I would go for “Friends In Low Places” or, “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. That’s because when I was four, my favorite thing to do was to dance to Michael Jackson and pretend I was him. 

Interview has been edited for content and clarity.