Josh Ritter

Josh Ritter
Photo by S. Malmrose
Background information
Born	October 21 1976 (1976-10-21) (age 31) Moscow, Idaho
Genre(s)	Folk
Instrument(s)	Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano
Label(s)	Signature Sounds V2
Website	www.joshritter.com

Josh Ritter is an American singer-songwriter born in Moscow, Idaho on October 21, 1976. Ritter began writing songs while attending Oberlin College. He eventually changed his major from neuroscience and graduated in 1999 with a self-designed major in American History through Narrative Folk Music. His style is in the tradition of folk music and ballads. He is influenced by the lyrics of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Leonard Cohen. Ritter appeared at the 2002 Newport Folk Festival, Oxegen 2005 and has headlined with artists such as Joan Baez. Baez later released her own version of Ritter's song "Wings." Ritter's 2003 full-length album Hello Starling debuted at #2 on the charts in Ireland, where Ritter has developed a loyal following. He was signed by a United States record label, V2 Records, in 2005 and Hello Starling was re-released. Released on April 19, 2006, his fourth album, The Animal Years, received excellent reviews. Ritter's fifth album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, was released on August 21, 2007. On January 31, 2008, Ritter appears on the program Live from the Artists Den on Ovation TV at 8 PM ET/PT. The episode features his October 26, 2007 performance, filmed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

Discography

Albums

• Josh Ritter (1999, self-released)
• Golden Age of Radio (2001, re-released January 22, 2002)
• Hello Starling (September 9, 2003)
• The Animal Years (March 20, 2006 in UK, April 11, 2006 in U.S.)
• In the Dark - Live at Vicar Street (November 24, 2006, Ireland only)
• The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (August 21, 2007 in U.S., October 1, 2007 in UK)

EPs

• Come & Find Me Remix EP (2002)
• 4 Songs Live EP (February 22, 2005)
• Good Man EP (August 18, 2006, Ireland only)
• Girl In The War EP (August 29, 2006 on iTunes, November 27 2006 in UK)
• Live At The Record Exchange EP (January 30,2007)

Singles

• "Hello Starling (Snow Is Gone)" (May 31, 2004, UK single)
• "Thin Blue Flame" (2005, U.S. promo-only single)
• "Girl In The War" (April 11, 2006, US promo-only 7-inch)
• "Lillian, Egypt" (May 29, 2006, UK single)
• "Wolves" (July 25, 2006, U.S. promo-only single)
• "Right Moves" (October 15, 2007, UK single)
• "Mind's Eye" (January 2008, Irish single)

See also

• The Cake Sale

External links

• Josh Ritter performs "To The Dogs or Whoever" on Plum TV
• Official website
• Signature Sounds
• The Official Josh Ritter Fansite
• American Gothic - Josh Ritter interview
• 2006 concert in Paradiso at Fabchannel.com
• 2007 concert in the Melkweg at Fabchannel.com
• Josh Ritter collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• Audio interview with Josh Ritter at In House Radio
• Interview with Josh Ritter at I Guess I'm Floating
• Interview with and performance by Josh Ritter at NPR.org