SUSTO ready to rock Codfish Hollow in rural Maquoketa

The release of SUSTO’s “Time in the Sun” in 2021 coincided with the darkest period of Justin Osborne’s life.

The SUSTO singer/songwriter’s father died in 2020, and right around the release of his band’s latest album, he and his wife divorced.

“It was a difficult time to say the least,” Osborne said while calling from his Asheville, N.C., home.

Osborne, 35, opts to look at the bright side.

“You know, I haven’t had to look far for inspiration,” he said. “So much has happened — some good, some bad — over the last few years. It’s been eventful.”

In 2019, Osborne became a father when his then-wife gave birth to their daughter. After his dad died and his wife filed for divorce, Osborne decided to start a new life and moved from Charleston, S.C., to Asheville a few months ago.

“It’s been a roller-coaster ride,” he said. “It’s been one big thing year after year.”

And most of what Osborne dealt with has been with the pandemic in the background.

“It’s true,” he said. “It’s been surreal in so many ways. I was thrilled to become a dad, but when I lost my father the next year it made me think. My dad had me around the same age that I became a father, and now he’s gone. And then I go through a divorce and now I’m living in a very different place.”

Asheville has become an oasis for Osborne, surrounded by national forest. The charismatic frontman swims in creeks and hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“It helps clear my mind,” he said. “This is just where I needed to be. This is an incredible environment for a much-needed reset.”

Most of his recent visceral inspiration isn’t chronicled on “Time in the Sun.” Much of what impacted him is part of new material he has written and recorded with his bandmates.

“We’re wrapping up an album,” he said. “I've poured a lot of myself into the next record.”

SUSTO, which takes its name from a trauma-related syndrome associated with Central American cultures, is often filed under country, but a number of sonic elements can be heard in the group’s music, with elements of folk, rock and even emo in the mix.

“I think that's a healthy thing,” Osborne said. “For our band, it’s been about finding our musical community. We have that rock edge. There’s country in our music. We have different genres mixed in our music, but it makes it interesting.”

It works for SUSTO, which has released four albums in after forming a decade ago in South Carolina.

“I have no complaints,” Osborne said. “We’re still at it after going through all the ups and downs over the years. There were a lot of times when it wasn't easy, particularly during the pandemic.”

Iowa connection

SUSTO, which also includes guitarist Dries Vandenberg, bassist Jordan Hicks, keyboardist Steven Walker and drummer Marshall Hudson, has a soft spot for Iowa.

“Believe it or not, but Iowa is our home away from home,” Osbourne said. “We have so many memories dating back to 2014, not long after we were starting out. We’ve opened for the Lumineers in Iowa City. There’s a studio In Iowa City, the Magic Barn, that I love.”

After SUSTO played Des Moines in March 2020, the band was featured on CNN.

“I couldn't believe that CNN kept showing us performing in Des Moines,” Osborne said. “We became the image, the poster child of venues shutting down, due to where we played in Des Moines.”

Osbourne is pleased that the worst of the pandemic appears to be in the rearview, as SUSTO prepares to return Oct. 6 to Codfish Hollow’s barn in rural Maquoketa.

“We’ve all been through a lot and I’ve been through a lot,” Osborne said. “I think we can all use a break. I've had too many major things happen to me. All I want to do is focus on the music.”