This Saturday, Oct. 23, Northampton welcomes Idaho’s Josh Ritter, who will be supported by the Northampton-based Winterpills for an evening of unforgettable folk. Fronted by singer-songwriter and guitarist Philip Price, the four-piece opening act performs a storm of poignant folk rock. Earning comparisons to the likes of Elliott Smith, Red House Painters and Simon and Garfunkel, the band has clearly come a long way since their days in growing up in the Pioneer Valley.
In a recent interview with the Daily Collegian, Price discussed the release of their latest EP, “Tuxedo of Ashes,” and the promise of a new album on the horizon.
The Winterpills are a band based on harmonies, but no song displays this more powerfully than the EP’s title track. The song concludes in a gorgeous conglomeration of familiar voices, including Grant-Lee Phillips and Erin McKeon.
“When we wrote the song, I had this idea of a chorus happening at the end, but I couldn’t really get everybody together all at once,” Price explained. “I just had people come in one at a time to record their tracks in our studio and asked some of the people on the other side of the country to email their tracks in. It just sort of built over the course of a couple of months until we had enough tracks, and it sounded like a lot of voices. It is a lot of voices.”
The EP is a gold-star effort and a sure sign of things to come, especially with a new record in band’s the near future.
“We’re going right from this to recording a new full-length album. We’ve got a whole album ready to go. We haven’t started recording it yet, but it’s already written and we’re going to be doing that over the winter,” said Price regarding some of the new material the band has played at recent performances. The new album will mark the Winterpill’s forth full-length studio release.
Of course, one cannot forget the true talents of the evening’s headliners, Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band. The alternative-Americana outfit is fronted by the guitar-toting Ritter, who is now a veteran of the touring scene.
His style is easy on the ears, with a sound that is often compared to the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Surely, Ritter must blush at the comparisons, as these American greats were his inspiration as a young man.
The product of two neuroscientists, Ritter was not always on track to become a musician. However, he began his musical career on the lute after being exposed to the likes of Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” as a young child. Thankfully, Ritter graduated to guitar and became the singer-songwriter he is today, though he does break out the lute from time to time. In fact, Paste Magazine named Ritter one of the “Top Living Songwriters of All Time”.
Ritter has released five studio recordings over his 13-year career. His latest album 2010’s, “So Runs the World Away” cements the songwriter’s status as one of the modern greats of the music industry.
Tracks like, “The Curse,” about the burdens of eternal life in the eyes of an unlikely ancient Egyptian protagonist, show off Ritter’s stunning knack for songwriting. Paired with a sad-eyed piano hook, the song is sure to makes hearts melt.
“Change of Time,” a single off Ritter’s latest album trumps all other songs on the record. The song combines pop approachability with the kind of inherent musical ease that can only be achieved through experience.
Ritter’s songs have also been featured on many movie and television soundtracks including “House, M.D.”
The musician’s gift for words does not just end with songs, however. His first novel, “Bright’s Passage,” is due for distribution next summer.
It is rare to find such a well-rounded show in which both headliner and opener simply cannot be missed. This is one performance you will want to get to on time.
Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band will be performing at the Calvin Theater on Saturday, Oct. 23 following an act by the Winterpills. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets range from $25-$35.
Angela Stasiowski can be reached at [email protected].
