After settling in Asheville, NC, Bronx born singer-songwriter Jeff Santiago quickly became immersed in the city’s diverse music community, with some of Asheville’s finest musicians forming Santiago y Los Gatos. The band has played alongside artists like The Wallflowers, Franz Ferdinand, Heartless Bastards, Scott Weiland and Ozomatli, bringing a combination of emotionally driven lyrics and funky, rhythmic rock-inspired jams to the stage. Santiago y Los Gatos is pop music at its core, indie rock at its root that is infused with Hispanic heritage and Southern soul. All this, delivered in songs from the heart.  Their live shows are full of passion, energy and emotion. Their latest album, Washing Away Wetiko, was released in April 2024.

If he’s not bending strings with The 40 20 10s, JR Ward, or other acts in and around Asheville, he’s professing his own brand of beauty and truth in his own special way.His songs, his stories—and yes, even his jokes—will make you feel like you did back in the day. Donny has that gift of gab for connecting—and reconnecting—with every face in the crowd and reminding them why they fell in love with rock ‘n’ roll in the first place.

And here’s the thing about Donny: he ain’t stopping. He still believes the best is yet to come. Still in it for all the right reasons. Still a fan of Tom Petty, Warren Zevon, and the Oxford comma.

And he still puts on a show you won’t soon forget.