Renowned singer, songwriter, musician, artist and best-selling author Josh Ritter’s anticipated new album, Spectral Lines, is out today via Thirty Tigers. Stream/purchase HERE.
Produced by Ritter’s longtime collaborator Sam Kassirer (Lake Street Dive, Langhorne Slim), Spectral Lines finds Ritter expanding beyond the bounds of his previous work to create a record both atmospheric and profound. Dedicated to the memory of his mother, Ritter searches for commonality across these ten seamless tracks by exploring life’s most universal ideas—love, devotion and what it means to be connected, to both each other and to ourselves.
Adding to an already notable year, Bob Dylan performed Ritter’s song, “Only A River,” earlier this month while on tour in Japan. The song was originally recorded by Bob Weir for his acclaimed 2016 solo album, Blue Mountain. Of the cover, Ritter shares, “I am speechless. I wrote the song in the stairwell of my dorm in college, 25 years ago. Music is a blessed traveler.”
One of today’s most thoughtful and prolific voices, Ritter has released ten studio albums to date including 2019’s widely acclaimed, Fever Breaks, of which NPR Music praised, “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: 2011’s Bright’s Passage and 2021’s The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All, for which the film rights have recently been optioned for development. 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.”
In celebration of the new music, Ritter and his band, the Royal City Band, will return to the road next week with upcoming headline shows at Chicago’s Thalia Hall (sold out), Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, Washington, DC’s Lincoln Theatre, Philadelphia’s Keswick Theatre, Boston’s House of Blues and New York’s Beacon Theatre among others. He will also join Gregory Alan Isakov for select dates this summer. The upcoming shows follow Ritter’s sold-out solo European tour, which he wrapped earlier this month. See below for complete itinerary. Full details can be found at www.joshritter.com.
In addition to Ritter (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar) and Kassirer (piano, organ, mellotron, synthesizers, drums), Spectral Lines also features Jocie Adams (clarinet, synthesizers, background vocals), Matt Douglas (woodwinds), Zachariah Hickman (upright bass, electric bass), Rich Hinman (electric guitar, pedal steel), Shane Leonard (drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass), Kevin O’Connell (drums, percussion, electric bass, electric guitar) and Dietrich Strause (acoustic guitar, electric guitar).
SPECTRAL LINES TRACK LIST
1. Sawgrass
2. Honey I Do
3. Horse No Rider
4. For Your Soul
5. Black Crown
6. Strong Swimmer
7. Whatever Burns Will Burn
8. Any Way They Come
9. In Fields
10. Someday
JOSH RITTER CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
May 4—Woodstock, NY—Levon Helm Studios* (SOLD OUT)
May 5—Woodstock, NY—Levon Helm Studios* (SOLD OUT)
May 6—Reading, PA—Miller Center for the Arts*
May 7—Norfolk, VA—Virginia Arts Festival*
May 9—Charlottesville, VA—Jefferson Theater*
May 10—Munhall, PA—Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead*
May 12—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall* (SOLD OUT)
May 13—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium*
May 14—Atlanta, GA—Variety Theater*
May 16—Durham, NC—Carolina Theatre*
May 17—Washington, DC—Lincoln Theatre*
May 18—Glenside, PA—Keswick Theatre*
May 19—Boston, MA—House of Blues*
May 20—New York, NY—Beacon Theatre*
June 1—Park City, UT—Egyptian Theatre+
June 2—Park City, UT—Egyptian Theatre+
June 3—Park City, UT—Egyptian Theatre+
June 4—Park City, UT—Egyptian Theatre+
June 6—St. Louis, MO—City Winery+
June 7—St. Louis, MO—City Winery+
July 27—Portland, ME—Thompson’s Point^
July 28—Burlington, VT—Waterfront Park Concert Series^
August 12—Lyons, CO—Rocky Mountain Folks Festival*
November 4—Groningen, NL—Take Roots Festival
*Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band
+Josh Ritter solo acoustic
^supporting Gregory Alan Isakov
