Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country Mashes Up Beck & Grateful Dead’s ‘Loser’ In Colorado

Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country connected Beck’s “Loser” with the Grateful Dead’s “Loser” Saturday during the finale of their two-night stand at The Mishawaka. The surprise medley capped a memorable second night at the scenic Bellvue, Colorado venue with one of the weekend’s most talked-about moments.

Guitarist Daniel Donato and Cosmic Country bandmates keyboardist/guitarist Nathan “Sugar Leg” Aronowitz, drummer Will “Bronco” Clark and bassist Will “Mustang” McGee began the run on Friday with the fitting selection of “Hi-Country.” The four-piece followed by stringing together extended versions of “Lose Your Mind,” “Waymore’s Blues” and “Mystery Train.” Other highlights from the first night included an adventurous “Eleven Eleven,” well-jammed “Down Bedford,” Sugar Leg-sung cover of “Fire” and “Big River” encore.

Cosmic Country returned to The Mish on Saturday for a high-energy blowout. The band set the tone early on with a joyous take on “Boogie Man” that bled into a wild “Sunshine In The Rain (Strange Presence).” Donato and his ensemble then linked “Yonder” with the J.J. Cale classic “Travelin’ Light,” in a pairing of songs that hadn’t previously been played this summer. Mustang swapped his electric for upright bass for the set-closing run of “Blame The Train,” “The Gold Rush,” “Fortunate Sparrow” and “Half Moon Night.”

The foursome romped through “Forgotten Days” and “Valhalla” to launch the final set of the run at The Mish. A tender “Why Wyoming” brought the tempo down before Mustang fronted the potent “Fast And Loose,” which gave way to the foursome’s third-ever rendition of “Once Upon A Time In The West.” The improvisational centerpiece of the frame, “Chore,” trailed behind. Sugarleg then guided his bandmates on “Tell Me I’m A Lover” ahead of the exploratory “Dance In the Desert” that sealed the frame.

Will “Mustang” McGee stepped to the mic when the band returned for the encore to channel Beck on the Cosmic Country debut of “Loser.” McGee sang the line “Things are gonna change I can feel it” from the 1994 hit to signal the group to drop into the Grateful Dead favorite of the same name. Donato handled lead vocals on Cosmic Country’s fourth-ever cover of the Hunter/Garcia co-write and first since October 25, 2025. The quartet returned to Beck’s “Loser” to conclude the song, medley and show.

Watch footage of Daniel Donato Cosmic Country’s “Loser” medley:

Stream official audio of Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country’s Saturday night show at The Mish below:

Setlist (via Danielbase.com)

Set One: Cornerstone, Boogie Man > Sunshine In The Rain (Strange Presence), Yonder > Travelin’ Light, Blame The Train [1] > The Gold Rush [1] [2], Fortunate Sparrow [1], Half Moon Night [1]

Set Two: Forgotten Days > Valhalla, Why Wyoming, Fast And Loose [3] > Once Upon A Time In The West > Chore, Tell Me I’m A Lover [4] > Dance In The Desert [5]

Encore: Loser [3] [6] > Loser > Loser (Reprise) [3]

• [1] Will McGee On Upright Bass (Song)
• [2] Beatbox Break From Full Band (Song)
• [3] Will McGee On Lead Vocals (Song)
• [4] Nathan Aronowitz On Lead Vocals And Guitar (Song)
• [5] Nathan Aronowitz On Guitar And Keys (Song)
• [6] First Time Played – Beck