MASTER
First Congregational Church of MontclairMontclair, NJ, United States
 
 

Josh Ritter - Works In Progress + Songs You Know (Heather Maloney to open)

By Outpost in the Burbs (other events)

Friday, May 17 2024 7:30 PM EDT
 
ABOUT ABOUT

About Josh Ritter

Renowned singer, songwriter, musician, artist and best-selling author Josh Ritter released his eleventh studio album, 'Spectral Lines', last year.

One of today’s most thoughtful and prolific voices, Ritter has been praised by NPR Music on his 2019’s widely acclaimed 'Fever Breaks' album: “He remains a hydrant of ideas while embodying an endless capacity for empathy and indignation, often within a single song.”

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.”

This is a special Works In Progress + Songs You Know solo show. Here's a note from Ritter about the event:

"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."

About Heather Maloney

Some albums are monoliths, compressed under the weight of a singular circumstance bearing down on an artist. Heather Maloney’s “Soil in the Sky” is a collective memory. Stitched together from personal and universal ecstasy, loss both intimate and ancient, Maloney's fourth full-length release is a collage of tremulous folk, existential ballads, and assertive rock. Taken as a whole,
it’s a constellation that looks a lot like life. The artist holds the center. The Massachusetts-based “writer song-singer” found music in the midst of three years at a meditation center, honing a sound moored in days of silent reflection and reverence for storytellers like Joni, Rilke and Ken Burns. On “Soil in the Sky,” she takes us to the midwest’s existential crisis, a barstool scooching against fate, a make-my-day reckoning with society's old guard. They’re roads less traveled and she keeps good company. Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith lends a distinctive duet to “We Were Together,” a rare love song from Maloney that nods to a Walt Whitman poem; Maloney and Rachel Price form a harmonic Voltron on “Enigma,” a triumphant uppercut to oppressive power structures. The album is sonically rounded out by an all-star cast of players including longtime collaborator Ryan Hommel, Griffin Goldsmith, Jared Olevsky, Reed Sutherland, Dave Eggar and Jay Ungar. In sound and sentiment, these 12 songs cover an immense amount of territory. But they’re all powered by the same source. There’s a spiritual thread throughout the record. That inspiration doesn’t necessarily come from above -- Maloney has a patchwork metaphysical support system -- but from all around: the glow of humanity gathered in the people and places that lap out in our wake.
Heather has toured nationally as a headliner as well as in support of acts like Lake Street Dive, Shakey Graves, Gary Clark Jr., Colin Hay, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and many more. The New York Times called her music “utterly gorgeous, visceral” and SPIN Magazine described her as “stunning, breathy, and starkly memorable”. “Soil In The Sky” is out on 6/14 via Signature Sounds.

Policy For All Shows:

By visiting Outpost In The Burbs patrons voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to any infectious disease, including but not limited to COVID-19. The Outpost reserves the right to change policies at any time. Please refer to this show-specific event page or Outpostintheburbs.org  for any changes.

Restrictions

All tickets purchased day of show are subject to a higher charge.  Doors open at 7:00pm and show begins promptly at 7:30pm.

Effective 9/1/22 proof of vaccination and identification is not required for entry to events.  Masks are not required, but always encouraged.

Mailing Address

40 South Fullerton Ave Montclair, NJ 07042-3357