Take a set of indie-rock songs, hand them to a string band, and see what survives the translation. Quite a lot, it turns out.

Justin Osborne has performed as Susto since 2013, when he formed a collective of musicians and artists in coastal Charleston, South Carolina. Susto Stringband is his latest turn: Osborne joined by Americana vocalist Clint Roberts, clawhammer banjoist Helena Rose and upright bassist Joey Brown — now Holler Choir. Their debut on New West Records, Susto Stringband: Volume 1, runs nine of Osborne's ballads and confessions through Holler Choir's Appalachian harmonies and stringed arrangements.

These are still the songs people know, but the frame changes everything: retro intricacy, bluegrass texture, and the loose, lived-in feel of music made for a small room. The indie-rock punch is still in there. It just breathes differently.

Who's opening. Holler Choir, led by multi-instrumentalists Clint Roberts and Jackson Grimm, builds an Appalachian indie-pop sound out of haunting harmonies and stirring string arrangements. Their 2024 debut Songs Before They Write Themselves was tracked in the historic church room at Echo Mountain Studios.

Good to know. Doors at 7 pm for an 8 pm show on StageOne. Tickets are $34 standard and $31 for FTC members, rising to $42–$45 on the day of the show.