Josh 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.
Ritter attended Oberlin College in Ohio to study neuroscience, but later changed his major to the self-created "American History Through Narrative Folk Music". At the age of 21 he recorded his first albumJosh Ritter at a recording studio on campus. After graduating, Ritter moved to Scotland to attend the School of Scottish Folk Studies for six months. He was eventually spotted by Glen Hansard and his band The Frames, who invited him to return with them to Ireland. Seven albums later, Ritter has established himself as a singer/songwriter extraordinaire. His song Change of Time appeared in the trailer for the 2011 Natalie Portman film, The Other Woman.
Apart from music, Ritter has interests in writing and has claimed many different writers as influences on both his songwriting and fiction work. The title of Ritter's sixth album, So Runs the World Away, comes from a line in the third act of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ritter's own novel, Bright's Passage, was published in 2011.
Gregory Alan Isakov's song-craft lends to the deepest lyrical masterpieces, with hints of his influences, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen. He has been described as “strong, subtle, a lyrical genius,” but the source of his writing often remains a mystery to him. “My songs have nothing to do with me; they have a life of their own. A lot of times I won’t know what a song is about when I’m writing it. It just has a certain feeling about it.”
JOSH RITTER
JANUARY 16TH
ACA AT 7:30PM
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