Nashville Guitarslinger Daniel Donato Taps Into Cosmic Country With ‘Justice’ Video

For a few years, there was no more thrilling guitar player in the Broadway honky-tonks than Daniel Donato. The fresh-faced kid — he was just 16 — was the sharpshooting sideman in the Don Kelley Band, commanding tips from tourists four nights a week at Nashville hot spot Robert’s Western World. Now 25, Donato will release his debut solo album, A Young Man’s Country, on Friday.

Ahead of the LP, the Nashville native unveils an animated video for the track “Justice” that captures the cosmic-country vibes of his music. There are traces of the Grateful Dead (one of his chief influences) mixed with the Telecaster twang of Waylon Jennings. Donato says “Justice” is a cross between country and the Dead, and pairs an upbeat vibe with a sad lyric.

“It sounds happy, kind of like ‘Sugar Magnolia.’ But the riff to this song is reminiscent of Nineties country and outlaw country,” he tells IndieLand. “Lyrically, the story comes to life in the hook, just as a country song should, at the hook line ‘ain’t no justice, unless it’s just us.’ I had just broken up with my first love, but was still in love. A confusing crossroads many of us have been at.”

Donato produced A Young Man’s Country with Robben Ford, recording the LP at Nashville’s Sound Emporium in December.

“[‘Justice’] gets completely cosmic at the end by going into a different world musically,” Donato says. “The video reflects that transition perfectly. This, to me, is a ‘Cosmic Country’ song.”

The “Justice” video was animated by Giorgos Kapsanakis, Nikos Giannakakis, and Stathis Kefalas.