Josh Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who performs and records with The Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006 he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.\n', '

Ritter was born and raised in Moscow, Idaho. As a teenager, after hearing Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan\'s "Girl from the North Country" on his parents\' copy of Nashville Skyline, he attempted to write songs on a lute that his father had built, before abandoning the lute and buying his first guitar at K-Mart. Ritter graduated from Moscow High School in 1995 and attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio to study neuroscience, but later changed his major to the self-created "American History Through Narrative Folk Music". At the age of 21, Ritter recorded his first album Josh Ritter at a recording studio on campus.\n', '

After graduating, Ritter moved to Scotland to attend the School of Scottish Folk Studies for six months. He then moved back to Idaho for a few months before moving to Providence, Rhode Island, then Somerville, Massachusetts, where he worked temporary jobs and played at open mic nights.[citation needed] During this time, Ritter sold copies of his album and was spotted by Irish musician Glen Hansard and his band The Frames, who invited him to return with them to Ireland. As an early sign of his success to come, Ritter found on the trip to Ireland that his album sold particularly well at open mics there. With the money from merchandise sales, Ritter was eventually able to quit his day job and devote himself to music full-time.[citation needed]\n', '

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