While studying Neuroscience at Oberlin College in Ohio, US, Ritter changed his major part way through to American History through Narrative Folk Music which formed an integral part in the development of his distinctive style. In 1999 he recorded his first self-titled album using the on-campus recording studio with the assistance of: Zack Hickman (bass, organ, harp), Tom Graves (cello) and Darius Zelkha (drums). Without label backing, Ritter self-released the album which featured folk inspired tracks such as “Hotel Song”, “Stuck To You” and “Angels on Her Shoulders”.
After graduating from college, Ritter’s fascination with folk music was ever more prevalent and led him to Scotland, UK as he went to study at the School of Scottish Folk Studies for six months before moving back to his hometown of Idaho. Like most graduates, Ritter took up a few odd jobs while performing at as many open mics as he could and selling copies of his album on the side. With a brief stint travelling and performing around Dublin, Ireland, Ritter had finally found his calling as he became a raging success through his open mic appearances. Having accumulated enough money from merchandise sales, finally Ritter was able to begin his pursuit as a full time musician.
In 2000 with a budget of $1000 and recording in three different studios across the US, he self-released his second album “Golden Age of Radio”. Whilst promoting the record, Ritter struck an interest with Jim Olsen, CEO of indie label Signature Sounds who was impressed with him that he offered to re-release the album after witnessing his live performances. In a word-of-mouth whirlwind his popularity in Ireland grew tremendously as Ritter soon saw himself opening for legendary Irish folk band The Frames before embarking on a string of headline shows.
With seven studio albums under his belt, Ritter has performed at festivals such as: Sepomana, Newport Folk Festival and Oxegen playing alongside icons like: Joan Baez, French Kicks and Ron Sexsmith. Often found performing with The Royal City Band, Ritter has been welcomed with open arms by the Irish folk community, seeing him sell out the prestigious Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, Ireland playing to an audience of over 2,000 people.
I don’t know about you, but anybody deemed talented enough to place on Paste magazine’s list of the one hundred greatest living songwriters has already done enough to pique my interest; I think we can probably conclude that Josh Ritter isn’t there for nothing. Hailing from the comically-monikered town of Moscow, Idaho - I bet they had some fun there during the Cold War - Ritter is primarily a folk singer who occasionally blends country influences into his sound, and has built up an impressive cult fanbase by doing so down the years. It’s probably down, in no small part, to his impressive rate of return in the studio the past decade or so; he’s turned in seven full-length records, with the most recent, The Beast in Its Tracks, dropping last year. He plays shows at a pretty prodigious rate, too; since releasing that last album, he’s toured relentlessly across his home country, playing mellow, stripped-back shows to adoring audiences in apparently every single corner of that enormous nation. He retains an impressive overseas following, too, and accordingly played a slew of shows across Europe last Autumn - that run included shows in Manchester, London, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and, bizarrely, Pocklington in East Yorkshire; apparently, even small market towns need a dose of Ritter every now and then.
Joeg_67
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