SUSTO STRINGBAND 2026 WINTER TOUR

Justin Osborne has been performing as ‘Susto’ since 2013, when he formed a collective of fellow musicians and artists in coastal Charleston, South Carolina. Now a bona fide emissary of alt rock and treasure to the indie crowd, a lifelong calling coupled with a cosmic push of serendipitous happenstance led to his latest venture: ‘Susto Stringband’. In 2022, some major shifts landed Osborne in Asheville, North Carolina, where at an open mic night, this newcomer to the mountain town was met with the warm embrace of local powerhouse americana vocalist Clint Roberts, clawhammer banjoist Helena Rose, and upright bassist Joey Brown (now Holler Choir).
 

Lightning struck as an immediate connection and artistic chemistry captured a new sound and visualization that unfolds on Susto Stringband’s debut release from New West Records, simply titled "Susto Stringband: Volume 1." Nine of Osborne’s ballads, refrains and heart wrenching confessions, now drenched in the singular Appalachian sound of Holler Choir’s verdant harmonies and stringed arrangements, were recorded at renowned producer Mitch Easter’s (REM) Fidelitorium Recordings in Kernersville, N.C. Holler Choir's long time collaborator Ryan Stigmon manned production and mixing, with lauded engineer Jason Richmond recording the sessions and mastering the final product.

Susto staples like “Friends, Lovers, Ex Lovers: Whatever” and “Acid Boys” are reworked with new textures in Holler Choir’s company, while Osborne’s reflects on life as a touring musician, separated from loved ones by time and distance. Drawn from the depths of his soul, new offering "Never Losing Me”  is a promising letter of  boundless love and care to his young daughter and son, to be understood by them in the future. A second new tune “Double Crown”, was co-written with his wife Caroline Osborne, describing the exhilaration of new love, while paying homage to Asheville’s famed dive-bar, The Double Crown. Osborne’s introspective musings on love, devastating loss, mortality and transcendence paint a sensual land and soundscape. Still, steeped in the emotive punch of the traditional string band sound, Susto Stringband presents an Arcadia like vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature, but with Osborne’s lyrics, there are landmines to dodge and mountains to climb.
 

Loosely translated from Spanish, “susto” means “an intense fear understood as a condition of the soul." This defines Osborne’s creative output since the beginning. As an artist from the rural community of Puddin’ Swamp, South Carolina, inspired at an early age by gospel, bluegrass and folk, he’s come full circle with Susto Stringband.