An Evening With... Josh Ritter

Josh Ritter is an American singer, songwriter, musician and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. He is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics, and in 2006 Paste magazine named him one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters". He graduated from Moscow High School in 1995 and went on to Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, where he created the independent major "American History Through Narrative Folk Music" and, at the age of 21, recorded his self-titled debut album at a recording studio on campus.

He later attended the School of Scottish Studies for six months, then moved to Providence, Rhode Island, playing open mics in Boston, where he met Irish musician Glen Hansard, who invited him to Ireland as an opening act for The Frames. His second album, Golden Age of Radio, was recorded for $1000 and self-released, and the song "Me & Jiggs" was released as a single in Ireland. His third record, Hello Starling, produced by former Frames guitarist Dave Odlum, debuted at No. 2 on the Irish charts.

In 2006 he released his fourth album, The Animal Years, and his first full-length live album and DVD, In the Dark – Live at Vicar Street, was recorded over two nights in May 2006. In Autumn 2009 he toured with Love Canon String Band, a tour that included three nights in Whelans Dublin, where he performed Golden Age of Radio, Hello Starling and The Animal Years in full.