Josh Ritter Streams New Album 'Gathering' on NPR Music's 'First Listen'

Gathering, the highly anticipated new album from acclaimed artist Josh Ritter, is now streaming exclusively via NPR Music's "First Listen" series. Listen to the album here: http://n.pr/2wZ6ckf. Of the new music, NPR Music's Stephen Thompson declares, "...it's to Ritter's immense credit that Gathering again brings a striking abundance of songs-vivid, messy, occasionally weighty things that add up to a grand outpouring," and goes on to assert, "In short, Josh Ritter remains at the top of his game two decades into a highlight-strewn career. He'd be forgiven for loosening his grip, but his hand has never felt surer."

Out next Friday, September 22 via Pytheas Recordings/Thirty Tigers, Gathering is now available for pre-order, which includes immediate downloads of "When Will I Be Changed" (featuring Bob Weir), "Thunderbolt's Goodnight" and "Showboat."

Of "When Will I Be Changed," Rolling Stone asserts, "...midway between the country, gospel and soul camps, with thickly stacked harmonies that evoke the Dead's own folk-rock classic American Beauty," while Paste Magazine furthers, "It's a heartfelt ballad, set to a lovely blend of acoustic fingerpicking, glowing piano chords and subtle pedal-steel accents, all in perfect sync with Ritter's earnest tenor." Additionally, NPR Music recently featured Ritter narrating a special self-penned essay and unveiled several of his accompanying paintings, which serve as the album's artwork.

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 as well as a free concert tomorrow at Nashville's Union Station Hotel as part of AmericanaFest. Tickets for the fall tour are on sale now and include a download of the forthcoming album upon release date. See below for complete details.

The release of Gathering marks 20 years since Ritter began recording and performing music. Along with his loyal bandmates, 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 artist 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."

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 wrote 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).

GATHERING TRACK LIST
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

JOSH RITTER & THE ROYAL CITY BAND TOUR
September 15-Nashville, TN-AmericanaFest at the Union Station Hotel @ 6pm (acoustic)
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 7-Ithaca, NY-The Hangar Theatre
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