Jerome, Arizona | Verde Valley
Donovan — Prima Materia
Donovan is a multi-instrumentalist and founding force behind Prima Materia, a band making waves throughout Arizona’s Verde Valley. Equally at home behind a drum kit and with a guitar in hand, Donovan brings both the rhythmic backbone and the melodic instinct that anchor the group’s sound.
I first met Donovan in Jerome, Arizona — a town that seems purpose-built for music like this.
A little about Jerome
Perched on the side of Cleopatra Hill at around 5,200 feet, Jerome was once one of the largest copper mining towns in the American Southwest. At its height in the 1920s, roughly 15,000 people lived on that steep hillside. When the mines shut down in the early 1950s, the population collapsed to a few dozen residents, and the Jerome ghost town reputation was born.
It never quite went quiet. Artists, musicians, and makers began moving into the abandoned buildings in the 1960s and 70s, and today Jerome is a National Historic Landmark District — a working creative community stacked along switchback streets, with the whole Verde Valley spread out below. There’s a particular kind of energy in a town built on that much history, and you can hear it in the music that comes out of it.
The band
What started as an invitation to a private practice session with a handful of guests turned into one of the most memorable performances I’ve seen all year. Prima Materia rehearses often, and that dedication shows — the chemistry between the members is immediate, unforced, and genuinely thrilling to witness up close.
Rounding out the lineup are Cheyenne on vocals and Franco on keyboard. Individually, each member is remarkably talented. Together they create something bigger: layered, textured, and impossible to ignore.
I recently had the privilege of shooting a band session with Prima Materia, and those photos are coming to the blog next. If you’re anywhere near the Verde Valley and you get the chance to hear this group live, take it. Big things are coming for Prima Materia, and I’m excited to share more from this incredible band.
