JOSH RITTER TO PLAY FREE CONCERT SEPT. 22 AT STATE THEATRE
Critical favorite Americana singer Josh Ritter, whose past five albums all have hit Top 5 on the Folk Albums chart, will play a free show at Easton’s State Theatre, thanks to Philadelphia public radio station WXPNFM, it was announced Monday.
Ritter, whose 2010 album “So The World Runs Away” and 2015 album “Sermon on the Rocks” both hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Folk chart, will perform with his group The Royal City Band at 7 p.m. Sept. 22. Opening the show will be Irish singer-songwriter Naomi Hamilton, known as Jealous of the Birds.
No tickets will be sold for the show. To attend, you must RSVP at XPN.org/RSVP.
The show will be general admission, first-come, firstserved seating, with early arrival suggested.
WXPN is heard at 104.9 in the Lehigh Valley, 91.9 FM in the Poconos and northwestern New Jersey.
Ritter is touring to support his new album, “Fever Breaks.” Released April 26, it peaked at No. 4 on the Folk chart and hit No. 12 on the Rock chart and crossed over to No. 89 on the overall Albums chart. His State Theatre appearance will be the only area appearance on his tour.
“With WXPN’s expanded reach into northeastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey, it’s important that we give back to this community that has welcomed us so enthusiastically, and a free Josh Ritter concert is a great way to do that,” WXPN General Manager Roger LaMay said in a release.
Ritter has released 10 albums since his 2000 self-titled debut disc. He first hit the charts with his fifth disc, 2007’s “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter,” which broke the Top 100 overall albums chart.
“So Runs the World Away” hit No. 41 on the overall Albums chart, and the 2013 follow-up “The Beast in Its Tracks,” peaked at No. 22. “Sermon on the Rocks” also broke the Top 50 on the overall Albums chart.
He also has released five live albums and seven EPs.
In April, Ritter appeared on WXPN’s “World Cafe” show to perform stripped down, acoustic versions of songs from “Fever Breaks.”
Ritter in November played a paid-ticket show at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem. He also has appeared at WXPN’s XPoNential Festival at Wiggins Park in Camden, New Jersey.
Jealous of the Birds became known to “World Cafe” listeners when she performed in a special session from Belfast, Northern Ireland, this year.
WXPN is the member-supported, public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. It began broadcasting to northeastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey in 2015. Its “World Cafe” program is on more than 200 U.S. radio stations.