Josh Ritter

Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 7:30pm at South Orange PAC

Born and raised in Moscow, Idaho, Ritter self-recorded and produced his first album Josh Ritter while at Oberlin College majoring in “American History Through Narrative Folk Music.” This independent major greatly influenced his music and lyrics, with Rolling Stone describing him as an artist “blending gentle country twang and potent Muscle Shoals-influenced production with the singer-songwriter’s contemplative lyrics.”

After college, Ritter worked a series of odd jobs while playing open mics in Boston and Providence, RI, during which time Irish musician and front man for The Frames, Glen Hansard, heard Ritter and asked him to open for the band on their tour through Ireland. Ritter’s third album, Hello Starling, produced by former Frames guitarist Dave Odlum, debuted at No. 2 in Ireland.

After returning to the U.S, Ritter headlined the Friday night singer-songwriter events at the Hotel Viking at the 2004 Newport Folk Festival and shared top billing with the French Kicks at the Sepomana music festival in Vermont. Also, he headlined with artists such as Joan Baez, who later released her own version of Ritter’s song “Wings.”

Novelist Stephen King praised Ritter’s fourth album, The Animal Years, in his column for Entertainment Weekly, saying the album was “mysterious, melancholy, melodic…and those are just the M’s.”

Now, Ritter has a discography with over nine studio albums and multiple releases and remasterings of previous albums. Ritter’s music has appeared in various television shows and movies including his song “Change of Time” in the trailer for the Natalie Portman film The Other Woman and “Homecoming” in the season 2 finale of Showtime’s Billions. He also has two published novels: Bright’s Passage and The Great Glorious Goddamned of It All.