Johnny Delaware at Treehouse Art Space (June 19, 2026)
Johnny Delaware (co-founder and former member of SUSTO) will release On God’s Time on July 24, 2026 via Normaltown/New West Records. The 10-song set was produced by Delaware and recorded in his adopted hometowns of Mexico City and Charleston, SC. The album follows 2024’s Para Llevar, which Magnet Magazine said “evokes the Laurel Canyon aesthetic at its most vibey and approachable” and Glide Magazine hailed as “a swirl of indie rock, Americana, and psychedelic folk.”
The captivating On God’s Time isn’t so much a meditation on mortality as an embrace of our ephemerality. The collection looks to death as a means of putting life itself into focus, as a lens through which to understand the meaning and purpose of our dwindling days on this planet. The songs here are firmly rooted in the spiritual realm of the cosmic drifter, full of larger-than-life characters navigating their way through a world of tragic beauty and infinite wonder, and the performances are loose and raw to match, guided by instinct and tracked live and in the moment. It’s a moving snapshot, a timeless exploration of love and loss and gratitude and regret rooted in the promise that our impermanence isn’t a curse, but rather a gift. Delaware says, “Life is wonderful and painful and a lot of times it’s not easy, but it’s not supposed to be easy. We’re all on a mission to do what’s in our hearts before they stop beating. That’s the only journey that matters.
Today, Under the Radar premiered the video for the first single, “Crystal Ball.” Delaware says, “I was a door-to-door internet salesman in South Dakota during the Summer of 2024. While figuring things out, the beginning stages consisted of a lot of doors being shut in my face. My whole timeline fell out of place. A musician selling the internet? It didn’t feel like I was a main character in what was supposed to be my story. Though a part of me loved the challenge, I had to shift perspective and remind myself of what I’m most grateful for, and why I love my life. That mindset brought ‘Crystal Ball’ on an acoustic guitar while staring at a popcorn ceiling with the lights off. That next summer, while touring Europe, I proposed to my wife in Madrid and added some of those details in the second verse. I mean what I say in the song – that I’d put my hand on the future and pray for all the beautiful blessings to last. I don’t want to fall into traps of thinking life is all doom and gloom. If I’m gonna be alive, I wanna laugh and have fun. ‘Crystal Ball’ is my reminder.” See the Santiago Gomez-directed video HERE.
Following the release of Para Llevar, The Atlantic hilariously mistook it as a possible work of artificial intelligence. “I guess the Spotify algorithm was sharing my songs on playlists with that viral AI band The Velvet Sundown, and there was a writer who started questioning if I was a real person,” Delaware laughs. “It was absurd, of course, but it got me thinking even more about what makes us human, about what it means to actually be alive.” Delaware began penning songs as reminders to himself to look for the bigger picture and, as Warren Zevon once put it, “enjoy every sandwich.” With the new songs came a new sense of fearlessness, a commitment to living as authentically as possible.
Delaware says “The album title, On God’s Time, isn’t a Biblical reference in the way most people use it to talk about letting go or surrendering to fate. It’s a reminder that this all ends, that someday our bodies will be gone and no one will remember we were ever even here. We’ve been gifted this brief, precious moment, and it’s up to us to make the most of it. Death is one of the best teachers we have,” he reflects. “It reminds you why you’re here, how fleeting this all is and what a waste it would be to sleepwalk through it. You only get one chance to be who you’re meant to be.”
For Johnny Delaware, dying is an inevitability. Living is a choice.
Johnny Delaware On Tour:
June 19 – Jacksonville, FL – Treehouse Art Space
June 20 – Atlanta, GA – The House
June 25 – Charlotte, NC – House Show
June 26 – Athens, GA – Athfest (New West Athfest Party on the Georgia Theatre Rooftop) **
June 27 – Athens, GA – Athfest (Georgia Theatre with Starboro) **
June 28 – Mobile, AL – Callaghan’s Irish Pub
July 1st – Louisville, KY – Natalie’s Airbnb
July 3rd – Chicago, IL – House Show
July 4th – Davenport, IA – House Show
July 5th – Maquoketa, IA – House Show
July 6th – Davenport, IA – Raccoon Motel Anniversary Party
July 10th – Atlanta, GA – Moody Motel
July 11th – McDonough, GA – House Show
** Full Band Performances