JACKSON, Wyo. — “I’d rather be the one that loves than to be loved and never even know,” sings Josh Ritter on “Snow is Gone” from his 2003 album Hello Starling. When it comes to distinguished folk songwriters of an era, Ritter certainly comes to mind in the company of Jason Isbell, Jeff Tweedy and Hayes Carll with regards to writing unforgettable lyrics. Ritter will take the stage solo this Friday at the Center Theater.
Earlier this year Ritter released Fever Breaks, his tenth studio album. It was produced by Isbell at RCA Studios in Nashville with Isbell’s band The 400 Unit supporting the songs. The collaboration was sparked after touring together and growing closer on a personal level. And though Ritter has long toured his longtime band mates of The Royal City Band, solo sets have a purpose and breath beyond the groove of a rock show.
“Part of playing solo is establishing this direct line of energy between you and the audience, and when its working well it’s just a beautiful feeling,” Ritter said from his Brooklyn home, an evening after performing with Isbell and Steve Earle. “You try to bring that into the rock show but there’s also the energy that you’re sharing with the band. Solo shows have the chance to be more directed and I suppose that’s what intimacy is. We play a wide range of dynamics as a band, but there are some moments that only really work best when they are solo. You can also communicate with the audience in a different way and be a tiny bit more agile.”
“Another New World” from his album So Runs the World Away is one such song. The tune has a long narrative through line with a big, adventurous story that benefits from the patient and focused development. The latter scenario also demands acute attention from the audience.
Ritter grew up in Moscow, Idaho, and is notably a prolific writer that was named to Paste Magazine’s 100 Best Living Songwriters list back in 2006. Since then, Ritter has released several albums as well as a novel, Bright’s Passage, and co-wrote with Bob Weir for Weir’s 2016 album of original cowboy songs, Blue Mountain. Ritter later tapped Weir to sing on the studio version of his song “When Will I Be Changed.”
“Writing with Bob [Weir] was a beautiful experience,” Ritter remembered. “I found that the places he wanted to borough into were not the things that I expected. That was so cool, and I started realizing that co-writing is like growing a rose bush and looking at each separate flower and see what it does. Trying to grow something that’s uniquely everyone’s vision. Bob expanded by view of what a writer is in that situation and created platforms for other collaborators can do what they do best.”
Ritter is currently in between album cycles and performing more solo dates, a tour he has dubbed “A Book of Gold Thrown Open Tour.”
“I’ve been writing a lot of story songs lately,” Ritter shared about his current writing mindset. “It’s a cool period of time because I’m not writing for an album, and the songs have their own separate identities. It’s a cool time, a very fertile moment.”
“I really do believe that songs are frameworks—they’re like a coat hook, you hang everything else on them.”
The Center for the Arts presents Josh Ritter, 7 p.m. Friday at the Center Theater. $48-$68. JHCenterForTheArts.org.
