Song Review: Grahame Lesh and Daniel Donato - “Cumberland Blues” -> “Jack-A-Roe” -> “Cumberland Blues”
As side projects go, Grahame Lesh and Daniel Donato’s could easily be front-and-center if their first release is any indication.
The former Phil Lesh & Friends bandmates previewed their new setup with an informal, back-patio, duo-acoustic Grateful Dead sandwich that shows their ability to simultaneously look back and move forward.
The songs are played and sung as close to their traditional arrangements as possible with two guitars and two voices. Lesh and Donato have a blend musically and vocally and their mental blend makes itself apparent on the flawless first transition when “Jack-A-Roe” appears, via Lesh, so slickly a listener might think, “I thought this was ‘Cumberland Blues.’”
It was. And soon would be again. But first, Donato plays an insanely fluid solo that would’ve made the elder Lesh beam.
And while the transition back to “Cumberland” is a little bumpy - these two haven’t played an actual gig yet; their first is June 19 in New York - their willingness to release this warts and all bodes well for what’s to come.
Grade card: Grahame Lesh and Daniel Donato - “Cumberland Blues” -> “Jack-A-Roe” -> “Cumberland Blues” - A-
6/16/26
