Josh Ritter's Blog, page 14

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Here’s an acoustic version of “Get Down” I did for American Songwriter Magazine!

The post WATCH: acoustic version of “Getting Ready To Get Down” appeared first on Josh Ritter.

Hey All! The wonderful and generous folks at NPR Music are streaming my new record!

The post Stream ‘Sermon On The Rocks’ on NPR Music appeared first on Josh Ritter.

It’s been said that one of the great tropes in fiction is the return home. Here we meet ghosts from our past; old friends, familiar architecture. There’s a lot that has been said about returning to old stomping grounds, but I notice that very rarely do we hear much about Make Out Point and that’s quite odd.

In the geographical folklore of our country we have Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon and the Mojave, the Great Salt Lake and the Mississippi River. There’s the mulch of high romance in all of them yes, but not nearly so much as can be found on that holy patch of ground, high up, secluded and covered in darkness where we take each other to be alone, to speak quietly, to hold on, to do all that good stuff.

From Make Out Point, wherever it should be, you can look out over your city, your town, your bend in the road. From here you can speak into the cavern of the night sky. Your dreams and wishes, vast and crazy as they are, will be registered, if only just once, as in confession, by the person who has come here with you.

A lot of other stuff will happen also, and this will be good. There will be nothing wrong with it. There is a Tree of Good and Evil here, in this moment, in this high place. For an instant you see it against moonlight, ancient and cragged, but it loses focus and is lost against the twinkling lights of human lives far below.

– Josh

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You can listen to “Homecoming” on Spotify or iTunes.

Sermon on the Rocks is out 10/16. Pre-order now at our store or iTunes and you’ll get “Homecoming” and 2 other songs now.

The post A few notes on my new song “Homecoming” appeared first on Josh Ritter.

The Royal City Band and I will be playing some special shows in January and February to celebrate the release of Sermon on the Rocks. Tickets are on sale now. Can’t wait to play these new songs for you!

 

Jan 14 – ACL Live at Moody Theater – Austin, TX – Tickets
Jan 15 – Granada Theatre – Dallas, TX – Tickets
Jan 17 – Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ – Tickets
Jan 18 – North Park Theatre – San Diego, CA ​- Tickets
Jan 19 – The Fonda – Los Angeles, CA – Tickets
Jan 20 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA – Tickets
Jan 21 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA – Tickets
Jan 22 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR – Tickets
Jan 23 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR – Tickets
Jan 24 – The Moore – Seattle, WA – Tickets
Jan 27 – Pantages Theatre – Minneapolis, MN – Tickets
Jan 28 – Barrymore Theatre – Madison, WI – Tickets
Jan 29 – The Riviera – Chicago, IL – Tickets

Feb 16 – The Phoenix – Toronto, ON – Tickets
Feb 17 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT – Tickets
Feb 18 – College Street Music Hall – New Haven, CT – Tickets
Feb 19 – House of Blues – Boston, MA – Tickets
Feb 20 – The Beacon – New York, NY – Tickets
Feb 21 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA – Tickets
Feb 23 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC – Tickets
Feb 25 – Carolina Theatre – Durham, NC – Tickets
Feb 26 – Terminal West – Atlanta, GA – Tickets
Feb 27 – Cannery Ballroom – Nashville, TN – Tickets
Feb 28 – Headliners – Louisville, KY – Tickets

 

The post Winter Tour Dates On Sale Now appeared first on Josh Ritter.

“Homecoming” is now available on iTunes and to stream on Spotify!

The post “Homecoming” On iTunes and Spotify appeared first on Josh Ritter.

Signed booklets are available when you order ‘Sermon On The Rocks’ via Amazon and Newbury Comics.

The post Signed Booklets available on Amazon and Newbury Comics appeared first on Josh Ritter.

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Hey All!

A few days after we put out “Getting Ready to Get Down” as a single, my great friend, Doug Rice, discovered an amazing homemade video online. It was a guy in his dance studio teaching the world line-dancing steps to Get Down! It was totally amazing.

We contacted Cef, who it turns out is a line-dancing instructor from Idaho, told him how great we thought it was, and next thing you know we had even more footage to work with. We knew this stuff had to be shared. Cef is a great guy and I thank him (and his wonderful class!) wholeheartedly for sharing his pure talent and enthusiasm with me and letting me share it with you. Doug worked really hard to bring the finished product you’re about to see together.

I hope you like Cef’s “Getting Ready to Get Down,” as much as I do!

Rock!

Josh

The post WATCH: “Getting Ready To Get Down” [Official Music Video] appeared first on Josh Ritter.

Hey all! My friends at Paste Magazine just premiered a new song from #sermonontherocks. It’s called “Where the Night Goes.” Listen here.

The post “Where the Night Goes” at Paste Magazine appeared first on Josh Ritter.

“Getting Ready to Get Down” was the last song of the many that I wrote for Sermon on the Rocks. I wrote it (for the most part) on the back porch looking at an apple tree and alternating coffee, bourbon and ice water.

For me, the early stage of the writing process is far from precise. I have bits and pieces of lyric stuff in my mind and I have a guitar or a keyboard and I just start banging blocks together, waiting for a fit.

I was working on something else entirely, just staring off into space and strumming away like you see in movies, when the first half of the first verse bounced into my mind.

“Mama got a look at you and got a little worried…”

After this long writing songs I ought to know a juicy first line when I hear one. Really good first lines don’t come along every day, so I dropped the song that I was working on and spent two afternoons on Get Down.

When I was done I wasn’t sure exactly what I had. Was this a song for Sermon? If not, what was it for? I recorded a demo of the song and sent it off to Trina Shoemaker, who was making the record with me. Her feedback convinced me that the song had a place.

Two months later Sam Kassirer, Zack Hickman, Josh Kaufman, Matt Barrick and I were in the studio recording take after take until we felt we’d found the right fire. I was expecting it to feel good, but as the arrangement got tighter and tighter I realized we had a real gem. It is a pleasure to have this be the first song folks hear from the record. I consider the album to be pretty adventurous and wild, and I think Get Down really gets the party started.

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Pre-ordered your copy of Sermon on the Rocks yet? Get yours here https://joshritter.merchtable.com

The post How “Getting Ready To Get Down” came together appeared first on Josh Ritter.

Get Down is now available on iTunes and to stream on Spotify!

The post “Getting Ready To Get Down” on iTunes and Spotify appeared first on Josh Ritter.