Ohio Balladeer & Story Writer: Austin Stambaugh, is enriched with an authenticity magnetically keen. A pioneer of spoken word storytelling, his work has been called “Timeless and nuanced,” by Lilly Hiatt who wrote, “enjoy with the lights low.” Folk Singer Tim Easton wrote, “Austin Stambaugh is the best flatpicking songwriter you’ve never heard of, and I’ll stand on Steve Earle’s coffee table in my Redwing boots and say it.”

Stambaugh’s aesthetic is derived from his fascination with plain-spoken human speech, new standard timeless songs, or just terrifying compositions that hold a listener in suspense. His artistry is displayed in his highly acclaimed studio album Midwest Supernatural (2023). Co-produced by Benjamin Tod of Lost Dog Street Band, the record is a dream document of personal wisdoms and narrations from his northeast Ohio upbringings. The record combines the best of his melodic ear as well as his ear for character that we read in his short stories, with dreamscape sounds of pedal steel guitar and fiddle washing through quick train beats hung on minor keys.

Originally from northeast Ohio, he is now located in Nashville, TN, where he works various blue collar jobs and is busy writing and recording for Nashville’s independent punk label Anti-Corp Music. A new short story album is slated for release in early 2024 with a crop of new tour dates to go along. He performs for audiences around the country with a Martin D-35 uniquely his own.

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