Acclaimed artist Josh Ritter’s new track, “When Will I Be Changed,” featuring guest vocals from fellow collaborator and legendary musician Bob Weir premiered yesterday via Rolling Stone Country. Of the song, Rolling Stone Country proclaims, “The song pitches its tent midway between the country, gospel and soul camps, with thickly stacked harmonies that evoke the Dead’s own folk-rock classic American Beauty.” You can listen/share the track here: http://bit.ly/2gOaCk9

The track appears on Ritter’s highly anticipated new album, Gathering, out September 22 via Pytheas Recordings/Thirty Tigers and is now available for pre-order, which includes immediate downloads of “When Will I Be Changed,” “Thunderbolt’s Goodnight” and “Showboat.” NPR Music also recently featured Ritter narrating a special self-penned essay and unveiled several of his accompanying paintings, which serve as the album’s artwork. Listen to the essay and view the paintings HERE.

The release of Gathering marks 20 years since Ritter began recording and performing music. Along with his loyal bandmates, the Royal City Band, and engineer Trina Shoemaker, Ritter returned to the Clubhouse studio in Rhinebeck, NY with more songs than he’d ever had before at one time. Re-energized after a recent collaboration Weir and—at the same time—tired of living in the shadow of his earlier self, Ritter felt charged with exploring the possibility of cutting himself loose from his own and others’ expectations. In his words, “I began with an exciting sense of dissatisfaction, and what emerged, as I began to find my voice, was a record full of storms. I still can’t tell what era these stories are from. They feel part roustabout, part psalm to me.”

In support of the release, Ritter and the Royal City Band will kick off an extensive tour this fall including a debut headline performance at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium on February 16. Tickets are on sale now and include a download of the forthcoming album upon release date. See below for complete details.Over the course of his acclaimed two-decade career, Ritter has released eight full-length albums including his most recent, 2015’s Sermon On The Rocks, which received widespread critical praise— The New York Times said, “The literary-minded songwriter Josh Ritter…recharges his music on his eighth studio album, Sermon On The Rocks…Harking back to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and maybe a little Mark

Over the course of his acclaimed two-decade career, Ritter has released eight full-length albums including his most recent, 2015’s Sermon On The Rocks, which received widespread critical praise— The New York Times said, “The literary-minded songwriter Josh Ritter…recharges his music on his eighth studio album, Sermon On The Rocks…Harking back to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and maybe a little Mark Knopfler, Mr. Ritter has always been a slinger of serious ideas and high-flown imagery” and The Wall Street Journal furthered, “The new album’s music is airy, propulsive and more often than not, catchy.”

Most recently, in 2015, Ritter began a close collaboration with Bob Weir and went on to write or co-write many of the twelve songs on Weir’s acclaimed 2016 solo album, Blue Mountain. Pitchfork called the album, “quietly adventurous, wise, and a welcome late-career turn,” while Entertainment Weekly described it as, “a moving group of tunes worthy of any campfire.”In addition to his work as a musician, Ritter made his debut as a published author in 2011 with his New York Times best-selling novel, Bright’s Passage (Dial Press/Random House). Of the work, Stephen King wrote in The New York Times Book Review, “Shines with a compressed lyricism that recalls Ray Bradbury in his prime…This is the work of a gifted novelist.”

In addition to his work as a musician, Ritter made his debut as a published author in 2011 with his New York Times best-selling novel, Bright’s Passage (Dial Press/Random House). Of the work, Stephen King wrote in The New York Times Book Review, “Shines with a compressed lyricism that recalls Ray Bradbury in his prime…This is the work of a gifted novelist.”

The Royal City Band is Zachariah Hickman (bass, acoustic guitar, wurlitzer), Sam Kassirer (piano, organ, synthesizers, percussion), Josh Kaufman (guitar, synthesizer) and Ray Rizzo (drums, percussion).

GATHERING TRACK LIST