Leaning against the wall in a very full Beachland Ballroom on Monday night, a woman waited anxiously for the evening’s opener, Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, to take the stage. Asked if she had seen the band perform before, she replied, “I haven’t, but my son, who just started college, is really into Josh Ritter. He told me I would like him.” For some artists, that would be damning with faint praise, but she was in good company.
In today's volatile music market, Josh Ritter is a rare breed – a hardworking folk singer-songwriter who appeals not only to young hipster types, but their parents, too – and draws them out of their homes, into standing room-only concert halls on weeknights.
The appeal of Josh Ritter is multi-faceted, but it seems to be held together by one key element: Ritter’s huge, ever-present grin. His concerts are so infectious because he is just so genuinely happy to be able to make music for a living. He smiles broadly as he sings, cracks jokes between songs (“If you want to slow dance, feel free!”), repeatedly thanks his audience for being there, and at times, even bounces exuberantly up and down on stage. His lack of pretense is refreshing, and his enthusiasm is contagious.
After an enjoyable set of mellow alternative rock by opening act Thieving Irons, Ritter, his smile and his Royal City Band mates (Zack Hickman on bass and guitar, Sam Kassirer on keyboards, Liam Hurley on drums, and Austin Nevins on guitar) made their way to the stage. “We are thrilled to be here!” Ritter beamed, and then launched into a soft, haunting rendition of “Idaho,” from 2005’s Animal Years.
Ritter, a native of Moscow, Idaho, entered the folk music scene after graduating from Oberlin College in 1999, where he designed his own major (American History Through Narrative Folk Music) and performed regularly at the Cat in the Cream Coffeehouse. The Beachland Ballroom, he told the audience, was “one of the first places that ever gave me a show.”
