SUSTO Stringband w/sg Alexa Rose | May 29, 2026 9:00 PM | Tickets from $29.65 Event Details & Tickets
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).
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.
Alexa Rose was born in the Alleghany Highlands of western Virginia, raised in the tiny railroad town of Clifton Forge. “Growing up I would hear stories of my great-grandfather Alvie who, for a time, lived and played with [bluegrass great] Lester Flatt when they were both young men,” says Rose. “Apparently, Lester tried to get him to move to Nashville and pursue a career. But my great-grandfather decided to stay in the mountains with his wife on their farm.”
Perhaps following in the steps of her great grandfather, Rose’s songs feel like oil paint landscapes of her own life in the mountains, often wringing out the beauty in mundanity and exploring timeless topics. Her earnest, well crafted stylings are a multi-layered merger of old country music and traditional folk songs, colored by rock and roll and mountain soul. Alexa Rose was born in the Alleghany Highlands of western Virginia, raised in the tiny railroad town of Clifton Forge.
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