New York based trio, SUSS bridge classic Americana instrumentation with atmospheric minimalism, pioneering a genre they call “ambient country,” – a term aptly defining their vivid and singular sound.

SUSS have been described by UNCUT as if “Eno’s Apollo Atmospheres crash-landed in America’s Sonoran Desert,” and by Pitchfork as “Neither rawboned nor ramshackle… elegantly composed brand of ambient country stands as tall and clean as a brand-new pair of cowboy boots.” Their self-titled album SUSS was #5 on Popmatters’ Top 10 Best Ambient Albums of 2022. Their new album, Counting Sunsets, was Echoes CD of the month this May: “It’s rare you hear a band play so few notes and get such a big sound. I’m not talking orchestral big or arena rock big. I’m talking Grand Canyon big, high plains big.” – John Diliberto.

SUSS returned to Big Ears Music Festival this spring with another year of their Across the Horizon showcase, as well as the debut of Americana Apocalypse, an experimental and immersive music listening experience inside an old Greyhound Bus Terminal.

Comprised of veteran musicians Pat Irwin (B-52s), Bob Holmes (Rubber Rodeo), and Jonathan Gregg (The Linemen), the group made the decision to carry on as a trio after the loss of founding member Gary Leib in 2020. Crafting cinematic soundscapes with the resumes to back them up (Dexter, Rocko’s Modern Life, Bored to Death) SUSS embrace pedal steel, a National guitar, mandolin, harmonica, baritone guitar, and the harmonium interwoven with synthesizers and loops, creating a massive high lonesome sound.