Dublin’s Liberty Hall Theatre was the perfect setting to welcome Josh Ritter's European Tour – an intimate blend of the personal and the playful that saw the acclaimed artist stand alone on stage, with just his guitar.

Most of the sold-out theatre's 411 patrons arrived within half an hour of doors opening, eagerly (albeit quietly) awaiting Ritter’s distinctive Americana, as smoke plumed, blue, from both ends of the rounded stage.

The haze had reached a perfect level of thickness when opening act, acclaimed singer-songwriter Niamh Regan, graced the stage.

“Hello, how are things,” she spoke softly into the mic, almost sounding shy in cadence.

However, all reservations she may have had dropped when she launched into her opening track ‘What To Do,’ capturing the audience’s hearts with her hypnotic vocals and heartbreaking lyricism.

“I’m just so delighted to be here,” she said at the song’s conclusion. “I’m starstruck to be here.”

She then launched into 2020’s ‘Save the Day,’ the fourth track off her ethereal debut record, Hemet.

Throughout her set, Regan maintained a familiar relationship with her captivated audience, smiling and making eye contact with those at the front and joining them in moments of impromptu conversation between songs.

(“Are you on Spotify?” one audience member called out. “I’m on the internet," she replied coyly, “but I have the real thing as well.")

At the conclusion of her set, she said nothing, instead opting to give her adoring crowd a knowing smile before retreating behind the curtain.

The lights went back on and the crowd became quietly alive again, whispering back and forth to one another about Regan's performance.

Josh Ritter at the Liberty Hall. Thursday 20th of April 2023. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

At the odd minute of 9:21, the lights dimmed once again and Josh Ritter came on stage in an unceremonious but deeply endearing jog. He was dressed as if he had just stumbled upon the stage, wearing a partially buttoned blue shirt and paint covered jeans. The only cohesive outliers were his sparkling golden shoes which glimmered in the smoke machine’s haze.

“Thank you guys so much for coming… It’s great to be here,” the singer said with an electric smile, strumming a couple chords on his sunburst acoustic guitar.

“I’m just so happy,” he said, beginning to expertly finger pick the opening chords of ‘Thunderbolts Goodnight’, from 2017’s Gathering

The audience swayed along to the melancholy love song as Ritter sang, bathed in blue light.

The next track he performed – also from Gathering– was the up-beat ‘Feels like Lightning,’ which quickly shifted the energy of the, now stomping, crowd. Ritter’s sheer joy was thrilling to watch, as he navigated the fast tempo and quick lyrics of the track.

“Hell yeah,” he said at the conclusion of the song, responding to the outcry of cheers from the crowd.

“Welcome home, Josh,” someone called out.

Born in Idaho, Ritter has a long history with the Irish music scene. It was Irish musician Glen Hansard– who sat on the balcony at last night's show– that discovered Ritter at an open mic in Boston in the late '90s, inviting the young performer to open for his acclaimed band, The Frames.

Ritter claimed to have not known his success on the island until he stopped for a drink between cities one night, and heard a local band playing a set covering his songs. When he asked, he was told it was something they did frequently.

“I am so happy to be here,” Ritter responded to the welcoming fan.

Josh Ritter at the Liberty Hall. Thursday 20th of April 2023. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

The next track played was ‘For Your Soul,’a single taken from forthcoming record Spectral Lines, which out on April 28th.

Then came the expert narrative track ‘Henrietta, Indiana’ from 2015’s Sermon on the Rocks. With red lighting to his left and blue to his right, Ritter sang the atmospheric track, detailing a family’s battle with alcoholism under the veil of small town American religious culture.

He became increasingly emotional during the track’s bridge, as smoke plumed up his body, nearly pulling the singer from sight.

“They thought I was crying/ It was something in my eye,” he bellowed, before launching into an intense run on his guitar.

The smoke became too much for Ritter after playing 2015’s ‘Bird of Meadow.’

“Let’s have a little less haze,” he remarked jovially, to the crowd's delight. Even in mild discomfort, Ritter knows how to keep things lively.

Josh Ritter at the Liberty Hall. Thursday 20th of April 2023. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

He performed ‘Wolves,’ from 2006’s Animal Years, a nostalgic track to longtime listeners. The – until then– mature crowd went wild for the song, stomping their feet and howling like the titular creature, bathed in bright orange lighting.

After the song, Ritter entered a riotous conversation with the audience, a move typical to his intimate concert style.

“Somewhere along the way I went crazy,” he said, responding to an audience member’s question about his paint stained pants. “I started painting a lot, and then I realised I just like wearing this stuff. It makes me feel more creative.”

The audience loved the rapport Ritter built – yes, he was the one on stage, but the show was a conversation, and everyone was included.

The next track ‘Monster Ballads’ was also a throwback– wistful and ruminative– propelled by Ritter’s yearning vocals and expert guitar-playing.

The first cover of the night came next in the form of Johnny Cash’s ‘Tennessee Stud,’ a narrative track which detailed the adventures of a man and his golden, green-eyed stallion over the span of twenty years.

During the song, a lightbulb burst loudly, yet Ritter continued on. Perhaps because of the incident, he asked to play his next song, 2017’s ‘Strangers’ in complete darkness. The only illumination came from the green exit sign to his right.

Josh Ritter at the Liberty Hall. Thursday 20th of April 2023. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Following ‘Truth is a Dimension' and a finger-picked ‘Strong Swimmer,’ Ritter launched into crowd favourite, ‘Kathleen,’ to the audience's absolute delight. There wasn’t a single pause amidst the 2003 track that wasn’t filled with cheering and stomping feet. It was as if the song itself was a conversation between the veteran performer and his Dublin fans.

‘Folk Bloodbath’ saw the lights become a kaleidoscopic white, before launching into Gathering’s ‘Dreams.’

The audience once again joined the singer for 2007’s ‘Right Moves,’ in a purple and blue haze.

Next was Jimmy Durante’s ‘Make Someone Happy,’ which Ritter was evidently proud to play.

“I feel like I am going to make a certificate for myself,” he told the laughing audience, explaining how a friend told him to frame his achievements.

“This involves this riff right here,” he said, beginning to pick at his guitar. “It is so hard,” he laughed, “ but I am going to do it anyway,” and despite his reservations, the song was a hit.

Next up was ‘Theophany,’ the second track from Truth Is a Dimension (Both Invisible and Blinding), Ritter’s 2022 solo EP which is only available on Bandcamp.

Josh Ritter at the Liberty Hall. Thursday 20th of April 2023. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Lights lit up orange and blue for 2002’s ‘Harrisburg,’ a narrative track about a young man named Romero who abandons his family in search of something more.

The pace that was lost in ‘Theophany’s slow and haunting melodies was made up for ten-fold in ‘Harrisburg’, as people sang and clapped along with the artist, who performed it, once again, in conversation with the audience.

When Ritter built energy, the audience followed suit. When Ritter slowed things down for the bridge, no one dared make a sound.

“I love you guys,” he said under a single spotlight.

After 2015’s ‘Where the Nights Goes,’ and 2006’s ‘Girl in the War,’ Ritter performed ‘Joy to You Baby,’ the penultimate track off of 2013’s The Beast in Its Tracks.

“I gotta start this over with an actually in-tune guitar,” Ritter said after a rocky first verse. “I was really looking forward to this song and this is killing my vibe.”

His irritation was mostly for show, as the singer continued to joke along with the audience, while simultaneously tuning his instrument. “I have no pride,” he laughed. “Thank you guys for an amazing night.”

2010’s ‘The Curse’ was the last song he played before the encore, illuminated blue and indigo, before disappearing to stage left.

Cheering like there was no tomorrow, the crowd coaxed the folk singer back on stage for 2006’s ‘Lillian, Egypt,’ and Ella Fitzgerald’s ‘Every time We Say Goodbye.’

The true star of the encore, and perhaps the entire show, was the ultimate song, an a cappella and mic-less rendition of the folk song ‘The Parting Glass.’

“Thank you for an amazing night,” he reiterated to the crowd before beginning the song.

Ritter loved his time at Liberty Hall so much that the intends to keep the party going – and will be busking on Grafton Street at 5pm today.

Dublin, I can’t stop rocking. I’m gonna play some songs, busking style, around five o’clock on King Street, just around the corner from the top of Grafton Street. It seems like the real thing to do. It’ll be very simple. Come on down if you feel like it!

— Josh Ritter (@joshritter) April 21, 2023

Ritter's new record Spectral Lines is out April 28th.