Josh Ritter delivers a heartfelt and intimate acoustic performance at The Appell Center

Brandon and I met up for drinks at Gift Horse Brewing Company in downtown York this past Friday evening. He was photographing Josh Ritter, and it was my birthday so we decided to meet for a long overdue happy hour prior to his show. While we sat outside enjoying a perfect evening in downtown York, we discussed how Covid had changed everything for us. For both of us, our priorities had shifted and while he and I initially worked so hard in 2019 to get the blog up and running, we found ourselves devoted to other passions and hobbies in our lives. The lifestyle of going to a concert 1-2 times a week was a thing of the past, and we both felt at peace with that.

Appell Center for the Performing Arts – York, PA

Spontaneously, I decided to look on The Appell Center for the Performing Arts website to see if there were tickets still available to Josh Ritter’s show. We have covered and promoted many shows for this venue over the years and it is one of my favorite places to see a performance. It is a small intimate theater-style venue with not a bad seat in the house. To my surprise, there were a few seats still available in the back of the balcony with ticket prices under $40. I picked up tickets and went to the show with Brandon.

There was no opening performance for tonight’s show. It was just Josh Ritter and his acoustic guitar standing on the stage under a single spotlight. The tour is appropriately titled, An Evening with Josh Ritter, and he played for us as if we were sitting in his living room. He chatted with us about the first song he ever learned to play in 1979, which he performed for us (Tennessee Stud written by Jimmy Driftwood but popularized by Johnny Cash) and how happy he was to be performing on stage again for fans – a comment he made a few times.

“Truth is a Dimension (Both Invisible and Blinding)”

Early in his set, he performed the closing title track from his new 4-song EP, Truth is a Dimension (both Invisible and Blinding). This was the first of three songs that evening to bring me to tears. Josh Ritter has a beautiful way of telling stories through song. It is not surprising that he is also an author. His second book, The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All was just released and has been available for purchase at his shows.

He also performed the 2018 single, “Miles Away” and “Dreams” from the album Gathering. The setlist was very well balanced between ballads and fast-paced strumming songs. The evening was perfect and the song selection really spoke to my heart. Throughout the 20-song setlist, Josh Ritter managed to make me cry not once, not twice, but three times. To send us off on a high note, he appropriately closed with the energetic, foot-stomping “Getting Ready to Get Down” from the 2015 release, Sermon on the Rocks.

“Getting Ready to Get Down”

Thank you Josh Ritter for an amazing night. I was not planning to attend but I am so glad that I did.

Full Setlist

For Your Soul
Feels Like Lightning
Henrietta, Indiana
Truth is a Dimension (Both Invisible and Blinding)
Thunderbolt’s Goodnight
Where the Night Goes
Dreams
In Green Fields – Big Drill Car cover
Tennessee Stud – Johnny Cash cover
Best for the Best
Deputy Blues No. 2 – The Sweetback Sisters cover
Kathleen
Miles Away
Theophony
Make Someone Happy – Jimmy Durante cover
The Curse
Lantern
Getting Ready to Get Down