这位在18岁时因为听到Bob Dylan的《Nashville Skyline》而将志向从救人的神经外科医师转为淑世的民谣诗人的创作歌手，以他在大学时代主修的美国文化研究作为养分，以丰富的文学涵养作为沃土，培育出一首首精准素描当前社会现象的杰作。在酒吧驻唱时期被爱尔兰团体The Frames发掘，进而被该团引介给爱尔兰听众的Josh，在爱尔兰建立起坚强的歌迷基础后，经过两张独立发行的专辑以及三年来马不停蹄的巡回演出，Josh以这张首度在国际唱片公司旗下发行的《Animal Years》让全球歌迷─以及他在美国的同胞们见识到他在安静沉稳中自然辐射出的慑人光芒/While his name might not be on the tip of everyone's tongue in his homeland, folk-leaning singer/songwriter Josh Ritter has benefited from numerous positive reviews and a loyal fan base. Born in Idaho, Ritter bought his first guitar after hearing the Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash classic "Girl From the North Country." While attending college in Oberlin, OH, Ritter got his first listen to Leonard Cohen and Gillian Welch. He fell in love with the songs instantly and dropped his neuroscience major in favor of the pursuit of music. With classic folk venues like Club Passim, Boston was the place Ritter chose to follow his dream. He recorded and released self-titled debut in 1999, but it was 2002's Golden Age of Radio that got him noticed. Selling copies on his own funded touring, which funded more albums and so on. Signature Sounds Recordings soon picked the album up, gave it exposure on a national level, and the four- and five-star reviews started rolling in. The HBO series Six Feet Under grabbed a track from the album for their end credits, while Ritter received an offer to open for the Frames on a tour of Ireland. Soon his single "Me & Jiggs" was in the Irish Top 40, a headlining tour of the country was sold out, and a tribute band named Cork was playing nothing but Ritter material in numerous Irish pubs. Back home the following was growing with sold-out shows in New York City and Boston, while an invitation to the Sundance Film Festival began 2003 on a high note. It took 14 February days in rural France to record his third album, and much of the equipment used for the session was Curtis Mayfield's old gear. The result, Hello Starling, was released in September the same year. Animal Years, his much anticipated follow-up, arrived in March 2006, with Historical Conquest and the live CD/DVD In the Dark: Live at Vicar Street arriving in 2007.