Josh Ritter

Biography

Joshua B. Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006, he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.

Early life

Ritter was born on October 21, 1976, in Moscow, Idaho, to Robert and Sue Ritter. His fascination with music began when he first heard Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country" on his parents' copy of Nashville Skyline, and he purchased his first guitar at a local K-Mart. After graduating from Moscow High School in 1995, Ritter attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. He initially enrolled in Oberlin's neuroscience program, as his parents were both neuroscientists, but he later created the independent major "American History Through Narrative Folk Music." At the age of 21, Ritter recorded his self-titled debut album at a recording studio on campus.
Following his graduation from Oberlin, Ritter moved to Scotland, where he attended the School of Scottish Studies for six months. From there, he moved to Providence, Rhode Island, working odd jobs and playing open mics in Boston. It was at one such open mic that he met Irish musician Glen Hansard, who invited Ritter to Ireland as an opening act for his band, The Frames.

1999–2002: Self-titled and Golden Age of Radio

A year and a half after recording Josh Ritter, Ritter recorded his second album, Golden Age of Radio×Golden Age of Radio2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Come and Find Me3:492You've Got the Moon3:063Me & Jiggs3:024Anne4:365Roll On4:156Leaving2:487[untitled]1:028Other Side3:239Harrisburg3:5410Lawrence, KS4:1411A Country Song3:0212Drive Away3:5613Song for the Fireflies4:22, for $1000 and self-released it. The album was recorded in three different studios: Soundgun in Philadelphia, Electric Cave in New Hampshire, and a friend's basement studio. While promoting Golden Age of Radio, he met Jim Olsen, head of independent record label Signature Sounds, who offered to remaster and re-release the album after hearing Ritter play. The song "Me & Jiggs×Me & Jiggs1 March 2002 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Me & Jiggs3:062Rainslicker4:153Golden Age of Radio3:284Come and Find Me (live)3:18" was subsequently released as a single in Ireland, where Ritter was quickly becoming a word-of-mouth success, first opening for the Frames, then headlining his own shows. Ritter's third record, Hello Starling, produced by former Frames guitarist Dave Odlum, debuted at No. 2 on the Irish charts. Ritter claims to have not realized the success of the Irish performances until stopping for a drink between cities and hearing the local band play a set covering his songs, something he was told they did frequently.

2003–2009: Hello Starling, The Animal Years, and The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

In 2003, Ritter shared top billing with the French Kicks at Sepomana, the annual music festival produced by WRMC 91.1 FM. Ritter and Ron Sexsmith headlined the Friday night singer-songwriter event at the Hotel Viking at the 2004 Newport Folk Festival. He also appeared at Oxegen 2005, and has headlined with artists such as Joan Baez, who later released her own version of Ritter's song "Wings" on her album Dark Chords on a Big Guitar. He was signed by a British label, V2 Records, in 2005 and Hello Starling was subsequently re-released. He began performing and touring in a crossover duo with the classical violinist Hilary Hahn in 2005.
In 2006 Ritter released his fourth album The Animal Years×The Animal Years20 March 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Girl in the War4:242Wolves4:043Monster Ballads4:064Lillian, Egypt3:245Idaho3:526In the Dark4:427One More Mouth3:298Good Man4:099Best for the Best3:5810Thin Blue Flame9:3911Here at the Right Time3:40. 2006 also saw the release of Ritter's first full-length live album and DVD In the Dark – Live at Vicar Street which was recorded over two nights in May 2006. Ritter released his fifth album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter×The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter21 August 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1To the Dogs or Whoever3:032Mind's Eye2:533Right Moves3:454The Temptation of Adam4:125Open Doors2:366Rumors3:317Edge of the World1:418Wait for Love3:479Real Long Distance2:4310Next to the Last Romantic2:4911Moons0:5112Still Beating3:5013Empty Hearts4:4014Wait for Love (You Know You Will)2:38, in 2007. Both The Animal Years and Historical Conquests received a warm critical reception with Stephen King calling The Animal Years the best album of 2006 in his column for Entertainment Weekly. In support of Historical Conquests, Ritter appeared as a musical guest on such high-profile television shows as Late Show with David Letterman in America and Later... with Jools Holland in Britain.
Ritter re-issued his second and third albums, Golden Age of Radio×Golden Age of Radio2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Come and Find Me3:492You've Got the Moon3:063Me & Jiggs3:024Anne4:365Roll On4:156Leaving2:487[untitled]1:028Other Side3:239Harrisburg3:5410Lawrence, KS4:1411A Country Song3:0212Drive Away3:5613Song for the Fireflies4:22 and Hello Starling×Hello Starling9 September 2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Bright Smile3:022Kathleen4:083You Don’t Make It Easy Babe2:334Man Burning2:475Rainslicker4:136Wings4:077California3:118Snow Is Gone4:039Bone of Song5:3010Baby That’s Not All6:0011The Bad Actress3:39, on April 7, 2009 and January 17, 2010, respectively. Each re-issued album was packaged as a two-disc deluxe edition. The deluxe editions contain both the original studio album as well as solo acoustic versions of all the original tracks, live and remixed bonus songs, and never-before-seen photos and artwork. The deluxe editions also feature liner notes written by Ritter fans, including Dennis Lehane and Cameron Crowe.
In Autumn 2009 Ritter toured with Love Canon String Band, where he reinterpreted his songs with a band composed of banjo, double bass, mandolin and guitar. This tour included three nights in Whelans Dublin, where he performed his albums Golden Age of Radio, Hello Starling, and The Animal Years in full. In 2009, Ritter also provided the soundtrack for the documentary film Typeface, by Kartemquin Films.

2011−2013: So Runs the World Away and The Beast in its Tracks

Ritter's sixth album, So Runs the World Away×So Runs the World Away4 May 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Curtains0:562Change of Time4:073The Curse5:004Southern Pacifica4:225Rattling Locks4:286Folk Bloodbath5:207Lark3:058Lantern5:189The Remnant4:0210See How Man Was Made3:2711Another New World7:3912Orbital3:3313Long Shadows2:25, was released April 23, 2010 in Ireland and May 4, 2010 worldwide. The vinyl version of the album had an earlier release on April 17, 2010 as a part of Record Store Day celebrations. The vinyl record came packaged with a CD version of the album as well. To promote the album before its release, Ritter made one of the songs, "Change of Time", freely available online. The song also appeared in the March 23, 2010 episode of the television series Parenthood and the trailer for the 2011 Natalie Portman film The Other Woman. In support of the new album Ritter toured with his newly named Royal City Band – starting with six dates in Ireland – including a sellout performance at the newly opened, 2100-capacity Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, and continuing with an extensive tour of the United States. So Runs the World Away largely garnered positive reviews.

On February 15, 2011, Ritter reissued The Animal Years on vinyl and as a two-disc deluxe edition on CD. The deluxe edition contains both the original studio album as well as a solo acoustic version of the album. The bonus disc includes four b-side recordings, two videos, new artwork, and liner notes by author Tom Ricks.
During his early 2011 tour, Josh Ritter released an EP album of previously unreleased material from the So Runs the World Away recording sessions, titled To the Yet Unknowing World. Ritter began streaming the EP for free on his website as well as made it available for digital purchase on February 8, 2011. To the Yet Unknowing World hit Apple's iTunes and record stores February 15, 2011. In February 2011, Ritter and his band continued their extensive tour in support of So Runs The World Away, touring America and Europe. During his European tour in April 2011 Ritter released his third live album, Live at The Iveagh Gardens×Live at the Iveagh Gardens13 December 2011 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 42 tracks · 3 discsDisc 11Moon River3:222Lantern6:503Mind's Eye3:014Right Moves4:465Southern Pacifica5:126Rattling Locks4:527Rumors4:068Bright Smile3:119Lillian, Egypt3:5710The Curse6:1111Lark3:5412Long Shadows2:26Disc 21Roll On5:062Me & Jiggs3:173Kathleen4:564Change of Time4:535The Remnant3:516Harrisburg8:437To the Dogs or Whoever6:598Snow Is Gone4:149Wait for Love6:19Disc 31Moon River2Lantern3Mind's Eye4Right Moves5Southern Pacifica6Rattling Locks7Rumors8Bright Smile9Lillian, Egypt10The Curse11Lark12Long Shadows13Me & Jiggs14Roll On15Kathleen16Change of Time17The Remnant18Harrisburg19To the Dogs or Whoever20Snow Is Gone21Wait for Love. The limited edition two CD and one DVD set is a live recording of Ritter's performance of 21 songs at the Dublin venue on July 18, 2010.
Ritter’s seventh studio album, The Beast In Its Tracks×The Beast In Its Tracks1 March 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Third Arm0:572Evil Eye2:273A Certain Light2:484Hopeful4:265Nightmares3:396New Lover4:287Heart’s Ease3:218In Your Arms Again3:169The Appleblossom Rag4:2710Bonfire2:5111In Your Arms Awhile2:0312Joy to You Baby4:4113Lights4:08, was released on March 5, 2013. The album was preceded by singles "Joy To You Baby×Joy To You Baby18 December 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAJoy To You BabyBI Got My Own Way" and "Hopeful."

2015−2020: Sermon on the Rocks, Gathering, and Fever Breaks

On July 27, 2015, Ritter announced his eighth studio album, Sermon on the Rocks×Sermon on the Rocks16 October 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Birds of the Meadow3:142Young Moses4:083Henrietta, Indiana3:434Getting Ready to Get Down3:165Seeing Me 'Round4:586Where the Night Goes3:497Cumberland2:178Homecoming5:309The Stone3:5510A Big Enough Sky2:4711Lighthouse Fire3:1212My Man on a Horse (Is Here)3:48. The first single "Getting Ready To Get Down" was premiered the same day. Ritter commented that the inspiration behind the album came from his desire to "play messianic oracular honky-tonk." Sermon on the Rocks was released later that year on October 16, 2015. In 2017, the album’s second single, "Homecoming", received notable attention after being featured in the season 2 finale of Showtime’s Billions.
Ritter’s ninth studio album, Gathering×Gathering22 September 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 26 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Shaker Love Song (Leah)1:032Showboat4:223Friendamine2:544Feels Like Lightning3:035When Will I Be Changed5:536Train Go By4:277Dreams6:208Myrna Loy7:319Interlude1:2410Cry Softly2:4511Oh Lord (Part 3)3:3112Thunderbolt’s Goodnight4:0513Strangers3:26Disc 21Shaker Love Song (Leah) (home recording)1:082Showboat (home recording)3:053Friendamine (home recording)2:244Feels Like Lightning (home recording)3:525When Will I Be Changed (home recording)4:376Train Go By (home recording)3:337Dreams (home recording)5:288Myrna Loy (home recording)6:029Interlude (home recording)1:1910Cry Softly (home recording)2:3111Oh Lord (Part 3) (home recording)3:2812Thunderbolt’s Goodnight (home recording)3:1913Strangers (home recording)3:16, was announced on July 19, 2017. The first single, "Showboat," was released the same day as the album announcement. "[Gathering] is a record of joy and sadness and laughter and lightning," commented Ritter. Along with the announcement of Gathering, Ritter also revealed he was going on an international tour with the Royal City Band. "Thunderbolt’s Goodnight" and "When Will I Be Changed" premiered before Gathering was officially released on September 22, 2017.
On August 28, 2020, Ritter released See Here, I Have Built You a Mansion, an eight-track EP of rare and unreleased songs, some of which were meant to appear on Gathering but "didn't quite fit the shape of that record." The EP also included a live version of "Lawrence, Kansas," as well as a cover of the Dire Straits song "Brothers in Arms." The first single from that album, "Time is Wasting," debuted on August 19, 2020.

2021-Present: Spectral Lines, Heaven, or Someplace as Nice, and I Believe in You, My Honeydew

In 2023, Ritter released Spectral Lines. This was followed in 2024 by Heaven, or Someplace as Nice and in 2025 by I Believe in You, My Honeydew. All three of these albums were released on CD, LP, and digital.

Other ventures

Ritter also has an interest in writing, and has claimed many different writers as influences on both his songwriting and fiction work. Some of his favorite authors are Flannery O'Connor, Philip Roth, and Dennis Lehane (who wrote the intro for the Deluxe Edition of Hello Starling). The title of Ritter's sixth album, So Runs the World Away×So Runs the World Away4 May 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Curtains0:562Change of Time4:073The Curse5:004Southern Pacifica4:225Rattling Locks4:286Folk Bloodbath5:207Lark3:058Lantern5:189The Remnant4:0210See How Man Was Made3:2711Another New World7:3912Orbital3:3313Long Shadows2:25, comes from a line in the third act of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Ritter's own novel, Bright's Passage, was published by Dial Press on June 28, 2011. He said of the novel, "Besides my songs, Bright's Passage is the first [written] work I've wanted anyone to see ... it's about a kind of sweet normal guy from West Virginia. He goes to the first World War and he comes back and he has an angel. And it's about him and this angel escaping this wildfire for five days. It's sort of this short little comedy." Ritter's second novel, The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All, was published in the U.S. in September 2021.

Personal life

Ritter married fellow musician Dawn Landes in Branson, Missouri, on May 9, 2009. In a February 2011 interview with the Boston Herald, Ritter revealed that they had separated. Ritter and his current partner, author Haley Tanner, own a home together in Woodstock, New York. They had their first child, a daughter named Beatrix Wendylove Ritter, on November 11, 2012.
On November 22, 2009 Ritter played at a benefit concert at Moscow Junior High School, his former junior high school in his hometown of Moscow, Idaho. The concert was for Jim LaFortune, one of Ritter's former teachers, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
In May 2018 Ritter revealed that he and his wife had adopted a child in January of that year. Their newest daughter Moxie was matched with them through Wide Horizons For Children, an adoption organization Ritter has advocated for. Part of his Gathering tour was cancelled to accommodate for this new addition to his family, though Ritter has promised to return to those markets for another show.

The Royal City Band

In 2010, Ritter's band members – some of whom had been performing with him from the early 2000s – were given the name "The Royal City Band" (a reference to the song "Thin Blue Flame×Thin Blue Flame2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Thin Blue Flame (album version)9:332Blame It on the Tetons (acoustic version)4:01" from The Animal Years).
Members:

Josh Ritter – Lead vocals, guitar
Zack Hickman – Bass, guitar, tuba, strings, vocals
John Lundahl - Guitar, Vocals
Sam Kassirer – Piano, keyboards, organ, accordion
Josh Kaufman– Guitar, lap steel, vocals
Ray Rizzo – Drums, percussion, vocals