The Troubadour Science of Josh Ritter

A great man once said: “To be a musician is to be a-driftin’.” Think of musical folk figures in American history – who comes to mind? Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen or John Prine, perhaps? All three have one trait in common: they all drifted from state to state, country to country to find their stories, tales, fables or truths.

Josh Ritter is certainly the truth in modern day folk music. “I believe open ended stories are more honest. I don’t feel like I’m preaching lessons or giving the audience some moral because I really don’t feel that kind of songwriting makes the most interesting songs,” Ritter said.

Josh Ritter has been driftin’ down the dusty path for almost a decade. His big break came when he was asked to tour Ireland with respected singer/songwriter Glen Hansard. Finally, he was able to quit his temporary jobs in the Boston area and tour full time.

Following in his parents’ footsteps, Ritter went to school for neuroscience. His major quickly changed when he started practicing the guitar. “I still remember the phone call to my parents, letting them know that I would be studying folk music instead of neuroscience.” You ask yourself as a reader – how does someone change a major so drastically?

“What I was attracted to about my parents’ job was that it seemed to give them reign on their creativity. There was so much within their career choice that could satisfy their curiosity. I just learned to realize that playing music made me instantly happy.”

Many times folk music is conjured with songs of a political nature. The reason that stereotype comes to mind is because of the popular folk stars that originated from the late 1960s era. Really, the stories of folk musicians document a place in current life and times. It just so happened that the particular style flourished within a political time in the late 60s.

“A lot of times political songs demean your intelligence, they aren’t saying anything that I haven’t thought about before. There is no way to solve a problem like war. Once you create a problem where there is no solution, you have made your own war.” One of Ritter’s fan-favorites is “Girl in the War” from his 2006 release “The Animal Years.” The song speaks for itself in pure, truthful dusty brilliance, documenting an open-ended story of the mid 2000s.

Ritter’s sixth studio album is due this August. “The album has more of the natural world in it. I wanted the stories as cinematic as I could make them. It is the first time I have played around with French horns; the production is much lusher,” he said.

He will join Ray Lamontagne on an exiting European fall tour. “Touring is the best part of this job. What I have is music, and what I love is music, and I am enjoying all the people around me.”

Ritter is currently residing with his wife in New York, NY and enjoying all the offerings of the city.

Tips to finding great folk artists: If you look, modern-day folk classics are not hard to find. Generally, you will not find your them on Y-94 or on your Saturday morning VH1 “Top 20 Video Countdown.” However, you will find some musical gems like Josh Ritter performing in many regional festivals across Minnesota and Canada this summer. One event that springs to mind is the Winnipeg Folk Festival running into this weekend. 10,000 Lakes Festival is another great tool for discovering great new artists. You can catch Josh Ritter performing at The Aquarium this Sunday evening at 6 p.m.

Who: Josh Ritter with opener Balthrop, Alabama

Where: The Aquarium

When: 6 P.M.

Tickets: All Ages Show/$12.00 adv/door

Also at Winnipeg Folk Fest Fri. July 10, 1:30 pm