by David Wagaman, Schnecksville, PA

On Saturday of the 2006 festival, a nasty electrical storm with high winds hit around 4:00. There was no choice in the aftermath but to cancel the remaining acts for Saturday at Wiggins Park on the Camden waterfront. XPN did a great job getting many of the cancelled artists slotted for Sunday or to do an impromptu performance at World Cafe Live that evening. Josh Ritter was one of those who performed that evening.

I knew of and enjoyed Josh’s music from his first World Cafe appearance and for what was his best known song at the time, “Kathleen”. However, I never expected to be blown away by his music like I was that evening. Josh did a 45 minute solo acoustic set that was unbelievable. From the first moment there was an enthusiasm in Josh that was infectious. It was also obvious that he was a well grounded individual and was anything but an egomaniac.

On a couple occasions while singing “Idaho” he held a note and it was accompanied by howls by some seemingly inebriated members of the audience. Instead of getting angry, he laughed and made light of how long the day must have been. Talk about about winning over an audience. My wife, son, and daughter were on hand for that performance and we immediately purchased “The Animal Years”. I believe it is safe to say that each of us had “Animal Years” as the number 1 album for 2006 and, in my opinion, it is the best CD in many years.

We returned to World Cafe Live to see Josh in another stunning solo acoustic concert in January of 2007. We look forward to the release of his new CD and his concert at World Cafe Live on November 7th.