Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country Christmas Jam

There are a lot of musical influences and sources that Daniel Donato has drawn on during his career and that inform his latest album, Horizon (Retrace Music), his second all-original album. But within those, Donato has carved out a unique and individualized spot for himself, one that speaks to the deep American music heritage that inspires him — and that he’s pushing towards the future with inspired, intentional vigor.

He calls it Cosmic Country, a moniker that’s both self-descriptive and a statement of purpose. It’s an organic rock band aesthetic with plenty of roadhouse twang; a showcase for Donato’s instrumental virtuosity and facility for melodically infectious songcraft. Bridging Nashville and the Great West, Kentucky and mid-60s northern California, tie-dye and plaid, it’s a world of his own, and a wide world of musical adventure at that.

While growing up in Nashville his his father, who turned his young son on to music of all genres, suggested the fledgling and industriously minded (even at just 14) artist start busking in Nashville’s lower Broadway area and outside concerts, for eight hours at a time on the weekends. One night, the two happened by Robert’s Western World where legendary honky-tonk local mainstay the Don Kelly Band were performing. Donato eventually became a member of the band, playing four hours a night at Robert’s (464 shows in total).

Horizons is the follow up to 2023’s Reflector, which received critical acclaim from a wide range of press, including No Depression, Glide Magazine, Magnet Magazine, and more. Donato the subject of features in Rolling Stone, UPROXX, Garden & Gun and Relix. Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country made their network television debut on CBS Saturday Morning and appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #LateShowMeMusic online series.

The whole package of player, singer, writer and band leader was in place. Three albums in, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, featuring Nathan “Sugarlegg” Aronowitz (keyboards/guitars/vocals), Will “Mustang” McGee (bass/vocals) and Will “Bronco” Clark (drums, percussion/vocals) are selling out venues throughout the country and bringing their brand of Cosmic Country to an ever growing, passionate fanbase

Grace Bowers was baptized by rock ‘n’ roll music. She cut her teeth on sweat soaked stages inside dive bars and found fellowship in the divine playing of B.B. King. She once studied six-string scripture – written by Slash and Leslie West – for hours a day, mastering her favorite riffs on a ‘61 cherry-finished Gibson SG.

As an up-and-comer in Nashville, Dolly Parton recruited her for a network television special and Tyler Childers requested that she join him on stage. She’s played with a who’s-who of three-chord storytellers and guitar-pickin’ torchbearers – Lainey Wilson, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Susan Tedeschi, to name a few.

And she’s not yet old enough to graduate high school. Phenom? Wunderkind? … Prodigy? No matter what label may be pinned to Bowers, she’s just a teenager who’s putting her faith in rock ‘n’ roll – one song at a time.

“[It’s] a cool thing,” Bowers said. “It blows people’s minds that I’m a 17-year-old girl, playing guitar. And as much as I hate being labeled as that, it’s true.”

But Bowers isn’t just a sought-after 17-year-old guitarist storming jam sessions with her Gibson and a gold-blonde mop of shoulder-length curls, of course. She’s a bandleader and songwriter preparing to leave her mark on some of the biggest stages in music. Her debut album, Wine On Venus – produced by ace guitarist and songwriter John Osborne (of hitmaking country group Brothers Osborne) – hits turntables and streaming services later this year.

Listeners get a first taste of the album on lead single and standout number “Tell Me Why U Do That,” where Bowers and her band – affectionately called The Hodge Podge – deliver a throwback, feel-good tune that comes jam-packed with funk grooves, soul-inspired melodies and a stop-you-in-your-tracks guitar solo. It’s the type of song that dares listeners not to stand up and sing along.

Bowers co-wrote “Tell Me Why U Do That” alongside Osborne and his singer-songwriter wife Lucie Silvas, plus Nashville artist-songwriters Meg Mcree and Ben Chapman.

“I hope this is the one that gets stuck in people’s heads,” Bowers said, with a laugh.

“Tell Me Why U Do That” and the rest of Wine On Venus showcases Bowers’ journey from a teenager who livestreamed bedroom practice sessions on Reddit – sometimes to 20,000+ viewers, no less – to a bona fide album-maker with more than 200,000 followers on Instagram. She picked up the acoustic guitar as a nine-year-old obsessed with so-called “cheesy” hair metal videos. A few years later, her fandom progressed to blues music after she stumbled across B.B. King while shuffling through radio stations in her mom’s car. The proverbial floodgates opened, leading her to discover essential blues artists Mississippi John Hurt, T. Bone Walker and others.

A native of Northern California, Bowers and her family relocated to Nashville two-and-a-half years ago, weeks before her freshman year of high school (Bowers now studies online). Not yet old enough to drive, she continued to grow her audience on social media, becoming a Gibson-endorsed artist by age 14.

She found her way to performing live, taking her skills to dive bars and pay-at-the-door rock clubs before graduating to guest spots at Newport Folk Festival, Nashville’s Big Bash New Year’s Eve concert and her own fundraising gig for victims of the city’s Covenant School shooting in 2023, among others.

How did one teenager cover so much musical ground in such a short time? “Lots of practice,” she said. “Lots of cutting teeth. Lots of not saying ‘no’ to people when I should’ve. Just being stubborn and persistent. I have worked my ass off to make this happen. Just hard work.”

On the album, Bowers and The Hodge Podge graduate from traditional rock and blues influence to sounds inspired by Parliament-Funkadelic and Sly and the Family Stone, she said. The group takes its name from a mixed bag of players that Bowers would invite to share the stage with on a given night. Despite now being a solidified group, the name stuck. The Hodge Podge includes vocalist Esther Okai-Tetteh, bassist Eric Fortaleza, drummer Brandon Combs, guitarist Prince Parker and keys player Joshua Blaylock.

Bowers co-wrote most of Wine On Venus in songwriting circles – a creative exercise that took her “a hot second” to comfortably navigate. But listeners wouldn’t know a first-timer was behind much of Wine On Venus; that’s clear on “Holding On To Something,” a savvy and confident number anchored by a riff Bowers began toying with years ago, she said. The song features a slow-building solo that culminates with harmonized playing and a high-flying howl from Okai-Tetteh. 

“I never forgot [that riff] and I was jamming on it one day with a friend of mine. We were writing some lyrics to it and we called over Esther,” she said. “This was the first time we had ever written [together]. It turned out to be that song.”

And Wine On Venus features a cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Dance To The Music” that takes on a Hodge Podge twist.

“It was just fun,” Bowers said, recalling the cover session with a laugh. “If you listen to it, you can hear all of our voices in the background throughout the entire song, which I thought was a cool thing to keep in. That one took us a couple hours to knock out. It was a fun, easy song.”

This year, Bowers and the band take Wine On Venus on the road for a run of dream-making festival shows, including slots at BottleRock Napa Valley, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Bourbon & Beyond and Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, among others.

But a booked schedule doesn’t mean Bowers isn’t already thinking about the next project. Like most people who believe in something, she wants to find out where this rock ‘n’ roll journey leads her. 

“I love it,” she said. “Seeing where I can go with it, I still have so much to learn.”

Sierra Hull is widely regarded to be a as a master of her instrument; A two-time Grammy Nominated artist and songwriter, recognized for both her most recent projects, 25 Trips (2020) and Weighted Mind (2016), she is also the 4x recipient of IBMA’s Mandolin Player of the Year, the first woman to ever receive this distinction. A pioneer for acoustic music throughout her already impressive multi-decade career, she has graced the country's most iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, and the White House. Her virtuosic abilities have garnered respect from genre-defining trailblazers, friends, and collaborators such as Alison Krauss, Sturgill Simpson, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, and Brandi Carlile. Originally hailing from Byrdstown, Tennessee, her unique sound is rooted in bluegrass, and she is widely considered one of acoustic music’s most inventive artists.

The Mountain Grass Unit consists of three Birmingham pickers, Drury Anderson (mandolin and vocals), Luke Black (acoustic guitar and banjo), and Sam Wilson (upright bass). The Mountain Grass Unit has played music festivals, private functions and multiple music venues, playing bluegrass tunes and adding a bluegrass touch to country, jazz, funk, rock, and even metal. With the addition of Luke Black and Sam Wilson on harmonies, The Mountain Grass Unit has established the firm foundation to take on not only the vocal harmonies of traditional bluegrass tunes, but also the freedom to adapt songs from various genres to an all-acoustic format. Aside from their original songs, all three are equally comfortable restyling a Tony Rice number, a classic Grateful Dead tune, or covering contemporary acoustic masters like Billy Strings. The youthful exuberance and energy they bring to the stage is always remarkable. Their competency at what they do was best described by Birmingham music promoter Steve Masterson when the boys performed at his Acoustic Café festival: "They don't just play good for their age, they play good. Period." Sam, Luke, and Drury are excited to share with their audiences this new and exciting musical chapter.