Northern California’s Rita Hosking sings of forest fires, culture clash, demolition derbies, the working class and hope. From NPR’s Weekend Edition to Bob Harris’s BBC show, Rita is moving audiences around the globe with her stories in song and doubly sweet and sinewy voice.
Rita’s style of country-folk has been lauded for story and sense of place, and her performances praised for capturing the audience. Honours include winner of the '08 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival, finalist in the '09 Telluride Troubadour Contest, and more. "This California girl comes by her mountain-music sensibility with true authenticity, with original songs deeply rooted in her family's frontier experience," (Dan Ruby, FestivalPreview.com) and Rita’s fans call her “the real deal.” A descendant of Cornish miners who sang in the mines, Rita grew up with deep regard for folk music and the power of the voice.
Rita began recording and publishing in 2005 with Are You Ready?, and followed in 2007 with Silver Stream. Come Sunrise, Rita's 2009 record, won Best Country Album Vox Pop in the 2010 Independent Music Awards. Burn, from 2011, was placed in the top 10 ‘Young Female Artist releases for 2011’ by No Depression magazine, and listed as a ‘Hidden Gem of 2011’ by The Observer.
Both Come Sunrise and Burn were produced by Rich Brotherton, producer, engineer, and guitar player in the Robert Earl Keen Band. Ace Recording, Rich's studio in Austin, Texas, is also where Rita recorded her most recent release, Little Boat, listed as one of the ‘Top 10 Country Albums of 2013’ by The Telegraph, while The Daily Mirror characterises Little Boat as a “short, but oh so sweet, lean and lovely set of seven songs introducing this Californian’s clawhammer banjo playing daughter, Kora Feder, 18, who is blessed with mum’s unerring delicacy of touch.”
More recently Rita published a songbook featuring the lyrics and guitar chords to all 49 original songs on her five albums to date and is currently preparing material for her next album release, due in 2015.
"Judging from this latest (albeit small) batch of thoughtful grown-up songs, Hosking won’t be wearing that dreaded “best-kept secret” tag for much longer." Acoustic magazine
“short, but perfectly formed…Little Boat leaves you wanting more.” Country Music People
“She's been called the best kept secret in country folk and Rita's razor-sharp songs and great live performances bear out the claim.” Daily Mirror
“it’s a beautiful little album, filled with poetically-thoughtful lyrics, gorgeous harmonies and stunning musicianship” Maverick
“Authentic American folk-music to stir the soul…This mini-album oozes class from start to finish” No Depression
“Many songwriters are attempting to ask questions about the morality of big business and of how the meek are expected to serve mutely,
but few are doing it as succinctly or with as much humanity as is evident in this little manifesto” R2
“A mini-album but one that shows again that Rita Hosking, who writes interesting, original songs and has such an expressive voice, deserves to be better known.” The Telegraph
Rita Hosking · April 2014 UK Tour - Accompanied by Sean Feder on dobro & banjo
Weds 2 Southport The Atkinson, Studio Theatre
Fri 4 Haile, Cumbria Haile Village Hall
Sat 5 Leeds Seven Arts
Sun 6 Cottingham, nr. Hull The Back Room
Mon 7 Shrewsbury Henry Tudor House
Tues 8 Basingstoke The Forge @ The Anvil
Weds 9 Penzance Admiral Benbow
Thurs 10 Plymouth The B-Bar
Fri 11 Torquay The Crown & Sceptre, St Marychurch
Sat 12 Ardley, Oxfordshire Private House Concert
Sun 13 London Walthamstow Folk Club, Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre Pub
“Like Nanci Griffith she has a way of taking tales of hardship, adversity and even death and crafting them into intense and heartfelt masterpieces.” Country Music People
“There’s a grit to her songs and sinewy toughness to her voice that weave their own spell.” Q Magazine
“…the best-kept secret in the country-folk traditionalist movement…it’s high time Hosking got the recognition she deserves.” R2 Magazine
“Her old-timey, keening vocals and simple accompaniments lie between Iris Dement and Gillian Welch, but her stoical tales and poetic touch are her own” Uncut