Josh Ritter

"Works In Progress + Songs You Know" solo show One of today’s most thoughtful and prolific voices, Josh Ritter has been praised by NPR Music, stating: “[Ritter] remains a hydrant of ideas while embodying an endless capacity for empathy and indignation, often within a single song.” This beloved singer/songwriter returns to the Appell Center for one night only performing a special set of “Works In Progress + Songs You Know.” “I’ve realized that a necessary part of working on records is finding the material that hangs together. I write A LOT of songs, and not all of them play nicely with the others. The most useful (and fun) way to find a song’s heart is to periodically play some shows where I’m able to get it all out there and see how I feel about them. I’m really looking forward to these shows for the chance to get all these songs, and some that are old friends, out on the table for a good time.” In addition to his work as a musician, Ritter is also a national best-selling author, having released two novels to date: 2021’s The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All and 2011’s Bright’s Passage. Released to critical attention, Stephen King wrote in The New York Times Book Review that Bright’s Passage “shines with a compressed lyricism that recalls Ray Bradbury in his prime…This is the work of a gifted novelist.”