The Ark helped spread Josh Ritter’s name among Michigan audiences when he made a standout performance at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival in 2003, and we’re proud that we, along with Emmylou Harris and Paste magazine, which named Josh one of the 100 greatest living songwriters in 2006, spotted this monster talent in the making. Josh has gone on to record a dozen albums, write a book, tour with Jason Isbell, and play much larger halls than The Ark. So it’s very special to us to invite Josh to perform at The Ark’s 2022 Fall Fundraiser, solo, in a rare small club appearance. He’s an entrancing performer, a true master of the songwriter’s art.

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Josh writes:

Hi everyone! I don’t know about you, but for me this last year has had more than its fair share of long nights of the soul. Whether in song or prose or one of those weird creatures between, I’ve returned to stories over and over again for sustenance and counsel and forgetting. I’ve also found myself dreaming of touring again, being on stage, performing my songs – my stories – like I did for so long before the world turned on its head. I’ve lived in those memories when I couldn’t be on stage in any other way.

Now I get the chance to perform again. I’m so excited I almost can’t contain it. I want my first set of shows in a year and a half to be in places that will allow me sing some of the stranger, quieter, more narrative songs that I may not always get to at a rock show. I want the venues to be special and beautiful; I want laughter and music and stories that are true even if they’re unreal. Finally, I want to perform again, stomp the dust off, see what new appendages and teeth and claws have grown from this time in the wilderness, see what joy can come from sorrow and what tears can come from joy.

I’m so excited to see you again.

Rock on,
Josh