Friday, August 10, 8 p.m., and Saturday, August 11, 7 p.m.
Codfish Hollow Barn, 5013 288th Avenue, Maquoketa IA
Headlining a two-day music festival at the Codfish Hollow Barn, the South Carolina-based ensemble SUSTO brings its Americana and alt-country stylings to Maquoketa on August 10 and 11, the artists' Fine 2Day Fest demonstrating the skills that led SoundingBoardBlog.com to rave, “The band brings a level of passion and thoughtfulness to their performance, and the way they play engulfs your attention and resonates a sense of authenticity. You can see how this is one of those bands who truly love to play music.”
Named after a trauma-related syndrome associated with Central American cultures, one described by frontman Justin Osborne as “when your soul is separated from your body,” SUSTO had its origins in 2014 as a side project for its lead singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. Initially performing with a revolving lineup of musicians, the group's eponymous debut was released by Hearts & Plugs later that year. In 2015, Osborne as his group self-released Live from the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame, and by the time the band recorded an Audiotree Live session in August of 2016, the official lineup consisted of Osborne, guitarists/keyboardists/singers Johnny Delaware and Corey Campbell, bass player Jenna Desmond, and drummer Marshall Hudson.
SUSTO's second studio album & I'm Fine Today, released through Acid Boys/Missing Piece Records, arrived in early 2017, and immediately landed on Billboard's Independent chart and Heatseekers' album charts. It also earned the band stellar reviews, with SoundBlab.com lauding its “thoughtful yet engaging songs” and Americana-UK.com writing, “Osborne knows how to write a positive lyric, and reflect on life, and simultaneously produce a good hook.” ConsequenceOfSound.com, meanwhile, stated, “This is the kind of music that just hits in the right way on those long, dark nights of the soul. Hell, it might even make you laugh when you're done moppin' up those tears.”
Joing SUSTO on the band's August 10 and 11 festival lineup are the alternative rockers of The Artisinals (Friday and Saturday 9 p.m.), the pop-rock outfit Human Resources (Friday 8 p.m.), the alt-rock super-group Crab Claw (Saturday 8 p.m.), and Babe Club's duo of Corey Campbell and Jenna Desmond (Saturday 7 p.m.), with Friday's concerts starting at 8 p.m. and Saturday's event beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20-25, SUSTO performs at 10:10 p.m. both nights, and more information on SUSTO's Fine 2Day Fest is available by visiting CodfishHollowBarnstormers.com.
