In advance of the release, the album’s first single, “Showboat,” recently premiered at NPR Music. Of the music NPR Music’s Bob Boilen proclaims, “On Gathering, Josh Ritter finds himself carried by a consuming sonic and visual project that is both uncertain and contemplative. On the album’s first single, ‘Showboat,’ Ritter explores internal tumult to project a larger-than-life image of himself.”

In addition to debuting the new music, 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 band-mates, 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 with legendary musician Bob 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.”

 

The 13 songs featured on the album touch on themes of uncertainty, mania, laughter and sadness. In addition to “Showboat,” highlights include “When Will I Be Changed,” which features special guest vocals and guitar from Bob Weir.

 

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 for the tour go on-sale this Friday, July 21 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 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 writes 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).

 

1. Shaker Love Song (Leah)

2. Showboat

3. Friendamine

4. Feels Like Lightning

5. When Will I Be Changed (feat. Bob Weir)

6. Train Go By

7. Dreams

8. Myrna Loy

9. Interlude

10. Cry Softly

11. Oh Lord (Part 3)

12. Thunderbolt’s Goodnight

13. Strangers

 

October 22—Dallas, TX—Granada Theater

October 23—Birmingham, AL—Saturn

October 24—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse

October 25—Carrboro, NC—Cat’s Cradle

October 27—Boston, MA—House of Blues

October 28—Portland, ME—State Theater

October 29—New York, NY—Brooklyn Steel

November 1—Pittsburgh, PA—Mr. Smalls

November 2—Washington, DC—Lincoln Theater

November 4—Northampton, MA—Calvin Theater

November 5—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer

November 8—Toronto, ON —Opera House

November 9—Chicago, IL—The Vic

December 2— Berlin, DE—Passionskirche
December 3—Nijmegen, NL —Doornroosje
December 4—Amsterdam, NL—Paradiso
December 5—London, UK— O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
December 6—Belfast, UK—Mandela Hall
December 7—Dublin, IE—Vicar Street (seated show)
December 8—Dublin, IE—Vicar Street (standing show)
December 10—Limerick, IE—Dolan’s
December 11—Cork, IE—Cork Opera House

January 12—Austin, TX—ACL Live at the Moody Theater

January 13—Houston, TX—Heights Theater

January 15—Tucson, AZ—Rialto Theater

January 16—San Diego, CA—Belly Up

January 17—Los Angeles, CA—Teragram Ballroom

January 19—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore
January 20—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore

January 24—Portland, OR—Crystal Ballroom

January 25—Seattle, WA—Neptune

January 26—Spokane, WA—Knitting Factory

January 27—Boise, ID—Knitting Factory

January 29—Denver, CO—Ogden
January 30—Lawrence, KS—Liberty Hall

January 31—Minneapolis, MN—Fitzgerald Theater

February 16—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium