Find out why he says the album is a launchpad for his career
Susto lead guitar player and The Artisanals frontman Johnny Delaware toured for the first time last fall under his own name.
For Johnny Delaware, home is where the guitars are. That means Charleston, where he’s built his music career as a sideman in indie rock band Susto, the leader of The Artisanals, and as a budding solo artist. It also means Lennox, South Dakota, where he grew up, and Mexico, where he decamped during COVID, purchasing land on the Pacific Coast to build a house—if his busy touring schedule ever settles down.
Delaware played to big crowds with Susto and earned a dedicated Lowcountry fan base for his solo work (dating back to 2013’s Secret Wave), but he won’t be satisfied until his own name tops festival billings. “If I’m older and I’m just a lead guitarist in a band, that’s the worst pain I can imagine,” says the 37-year-old. “I’ve been in the game a long time now, and my convictions have never let me down.”
In late 2024, Delaware released the mostly acoustic solo album Para Llevar (“to go” at a restaurant), which marks a shift from indie pop toward a ’70s sound reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac or the rock band America. “The Artisanals were a really cool, progressive rock band, and I love rock music,” says Delaware. “In the end, it’s not really who I am as a kid from a town of gravel roads and 1,500 people. I can still have rock elements, but I’m a singer-songwriter when I’m being true to myself.”
Johnny Delaware says his solo album Para Llevar, released in November, is a launchpad for the future.
The roots of Para Llevar began in Mexico, where Delaware wrote lyrics like “hungry ghosts are haunting my home” for “Darkness” in an Airbnb that shared a wall with a group of heroin addicts’ late-night parties. “Sad Song,” a meta meditation on the nature of songwriting, emerged from the same period. The high school state champion runner, who still jogs several miles a day, sings about the urge to move quickly through life—literally and figuratively—on the single “Running.” “Got a lover treating me right/who every night’s holding me tight/still I’m running,” he sings, before, “Lungs burning out to the speed of light, gone running/getting every drop till I’m comatose, gone running.”
“Running” and “Sad Song” were recorded at Charleston’s The Space studio, while Corey Campbell (of Babe Club) took on production duties for “Darkness” and “You Alone (are the revolution).” The balance of Para Llevar’s 10 tracks were recorded in hotels and rented rooms across Mexico and the US. The songs form a cohesive set, anchored by the the Spanish guitar instrumental “Incógnita.”
Delaware toured from the Dakotas to the Carolinas in late 2024, marking his first time on the road with a band billed with his name. After renting a van and paying band members, club tours are a break-even endeavor, but Delaware sees growth ahead—maybe even permanent homes for his guitars in Charleston and Mexico. “Music is a feeling, and you can’t overthink it,” says Delaware. “My intention with Para Llevar is to get a movement going. It’s a launchpad for the future.”
Listen Up: Watch the music video for Johnny Delaware’s song “Incógnita” from his album Para Llevar.
