Daniel Romano

It’s almost cliched these days to talk about the Death of Rock n Roll, as it has been dead and buried more times than the cast of a George Romero flick.  It might no longer be the dominant genre on the airwaves, but it is also far from dead.   There are a litany of acts that are carrying the torch these days, and while you have those massive giants such as AC/DC, Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age roaming the globe. There are fewer still who have found a way to take inspiration from 1970s era English-Rock and fusing it with the fury and immediacy of the early punk scene, but that is exactly what Daniel Romano’s Outfit has managed to do.   

Daniel Romano

For as prolific and enigmatic an artist as Daniel has been, he has always been a perpetually evolving singer and songwriter.   Over the course of 11 albums, Romano has shifted his focus from a country-tinged solo folk act, to full-fledged classic country star, eventually transitioning into a Willie Nelson-esque performer on 2015’s If I’ve Only One Time Askin’.  It was around the 2017 when Romano dropped his solo project Modern Pressure and a collaborative effort on the eponymous Ancient Shapes that you could start to see the Daniel Romano’s Outfit start to take shape, and in 2020 Daniel Romano moved from solo artist, to leading Daniel Romano’s Outfit proper.   While that initial line-up which featured Julianna Riolino and Roddy Rosetti (who joined Daniel, brother Ian, Carson McHone) only lasted a couple of years, Tommy Major joined the band in recent years, helping them move forward with a focused verve and ferocity.  

Carson McHone

It was the end of May when Daniel Romano’s Outfit made their annual trek out east, eventually landing on the familiar Marquee stage at 2037 Gottingen.   The band is no stranger to the East Coast, having performed multiple times on the main stage of the 2037 Gottingen complex, but Romano himself has performed downstairs on the Seahorse stage in years prior. I first experienced the magic of The Outfit down in Hubbards in the intimate Shore Club, where the entire Outfit ripped through a mesmerizing set of indie-rock tunes that were tinged with country and bluegrass, while positively dripping with glittery glam elements.   Standing at the edge of the stage a few weeks ago, the setlist was startlingly jam packed with more than 20 songs (many of which were pulled from 2024’s Too Hot to Sleep), and in the hands of any other band this set might stretch on well past the two-hour mark, but from the opening notes of “State of Nature” we were off and running.  

For the next 60 minutes, the band performed at buzzsaw-like intensity and cranked through the entire set (and 2 song encore) in a little more than an hour, showing that true-punk rock spirit, as there was little in the way of banter, letting the music do the talking.  The set was a testament to the fact that rock is far from death’s doorstop, and can still resonate deep within our souls, with a fire and passion that only punk rock can properly muster.   

Daniel Romano’s Outfit

UniBoys

Steven Lambke