Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country is why you always watch the opening act.

Maybe it’s the full moon, or perhaps it’s the release of pent-up frustration of a Dallas crowd just recently thawed out from a winter storm, but the joyful atmosphere in this theater is beyond palpable. 

I’m standing at the front of the stage, borderline jaw dropped, as the guitar and keyboard are currently competing for the better lead lick while simultaneously screaming joyfully in unison. 

To the right of me are a group of scene kids celebrating with uncontrollable delight. My favorite person in particular is a dude with long hair, a long beard and a pink floral long sleeve shirt. He’s been elated since the band took the stage and is clearly vastly more familiar with their work than I am. No matter which direction he dances, his eyes are glued to the stage in pure bliss throughout each song, and he occasionally jumps in the air with his hands above his head like a worshiper praising the word he just heard.

If you just walked into the Granada theater, you’d probably assume Daniel Donato and his Cosmic Country were finishing up their opening set with an epic closer to rally the crowd for Margo Price’s upcoming headlining set, but you’d be wrong. 

They were only on their second song of the set!!! You read that right, song number two of the evening was a wild and rowdy instrumental cover of Ghost Riders in the Sky that would rival any other band's closing song of the evening. Clearly, this show was about to be wild! 

A lesser band would struggle to maintain the ambience after such an energetic start to a show, but this is proving to be nothing new for Daniel and his Cosmic Country.

As much as I love the show, I’m struggling to understand why I like this band so much. Although Daniel Donato is an incredibly skilled guitarist, I typically cringe when I watch someone shred guitar solos for 2–3 minutes at a time. The talent of players that do this is undeniable, but it’s also incredibly boring. 

By the third song, I understand that the brilliance of Daniel Donato is his ability to weave technically impressive guitar playing into enjoyable songs in a way that serves the song more than the player. 

Every lead part felt as though it was written with the intention of improving the song's story, rather than just boosting the ego of the performer. 

This was a similar theme with each one of his band members. The technical proficiency of the drums, bass and keyboard were intertwined within the songs so well that it was almost a crime how easily you could not notice some of them. You don’t think about it at all, you just groove to it. Several times throughout the show, I turn to my wife in pure joy to say something like “did you hear that bass line?” or “holy, shit! The keyboard, right?”

She’s an amazing wife, so she politely nods in a way that says “Cool, I’m trying to watch the show. Please leave me alone.” But I don’t leave her alone. I keep pointing at the drummer and explaining how he looks so cool and effortless while playing amazing parts. Ultimately, she blocks me out and keeps dancing to the music, so in a way, we both win. 

Throughout the show I keep drifting my gaze to keyboard player, guitarist and back up vocalist, Nathan Aronowitz (aka Sugar Leg), to gawk at his insane keyboard and backup vocal abilities. He has an incredible ability to hit the high harmonies that few will ever possess at all, let alone in this genre of music. It’s refreshing to see a singer become this competent in a vocal skill that’s mostly useful for backup vocals. 

Truth be told, at this point in the show, I’m developing man-crush’s on Daniel Donato and Sugar Leg. I think if we just hang out a few times, they’ll realize we have a special Platonic connection and we totally get each other. I’d make a joke, they’d laugh and then play a song they just wrote for me. You know what I mean, right? Yeah, you get it. It’s definitely not weird. 

Inevitably, what is possibly the best opening act performance I have ever witnessed, has come to an end. The band has said their farewells and people are going to the lobby for more beer. My wife and I are still in awe of what we just witnessed and are now trying to make friends with the scene kids that are half our age. 

They tell us everything they know about the band, and they’re just as excited as we are when we explain it’s our first time watching them, or even hearing about them.

I’m looking around at the crowd of Margo Price fans, realizing that the majority of them are having the same experience as us. Margo Price hasn’t even taken the stage yet, and we already feel like we’ve gotten our money’s worth tonight. There is literally nothing else you could ask of an opening act. 

I’d like you take away three things from this piece. 

One: The scene kids are getting cooler and less pretentious, and they were beyond fun to stand next to at this show. 

Two: Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country is incredible, and you need to go watch a live show asap.

Three: If you can, always show up early enough to watch the opening acts. You never know when one of them will blow your mind.