Bringing The World Home To You

© 2024 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Making Josh Ritter a Household Name Everywhere

Josh Ritter.
Josh Ritter.

Josh Ritter's poetic and intellectually complex lyrics have helped make the singer-songwriter practically a household name in Ireland. But he's not yet well-known in America -– "yet" being the key word.

The liner notes of his latest release, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, are as evocative as his lyrics. He thanks the New York City Marathon, author Steven King, the many hotels of North America and, of course, his fans, whom, he says, make it seem so easy.

Of course, it hasn't been. Ritter was a high school kid from Moscow, Idaho, who decided to write music, learn the guitar and play open mics in Boston. He has since made it huge in Ireland, opened for Joan Baez and appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. He has even shared the stage at Carnegie Hall with Bruce Springsteen – the two singers' songwriting styles are often compared.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
More Stories