Josh Ritter

Widely regarded to be one of the best living songwriters, and one of today's most thoughtful and prolific voices, Idaho folk rocker and best-selling author Josh Ritter pens storytelling lyrics that have seen him compared to Mark Twain and John Prine.

After graduating from Oberlin College in 1999, Ritter devoted his life to a songwriting career, releasing albums independently and garnering word-of-mouth popularity.

He eventually caught the attention of Irish songwriter Glen Hansard (writer of the song “Falling Slowly” from the movie Once) and was invited to be the tour opener for his band The Frames.

This then resulted in Josh gaining international success, with his third record “Hello Starling”, becoming a charting hit in Ireland.

His songs have been featured on the TV show Parenthood, and in movies like The Other Woman and Typeface.

NPR Music has frequently praised Ritter's songwriting, claiming "he remains a hydrant of ideas while embodying an endless capacity for empathy and indignation, often within a single song."

In addition to his work as a musician, Ritter is also a national best-selling author, having released two novels to date: 2021's The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All and 2011's Bright's Passage. Released to critical attention, Stephen King wrote in The New York Times Book Review that Bright's Passage "shines with a compressed lyricism that recalls Ray Bradbury in his prime. This is the work of a gifted novelist."