This October, Jenny RitterB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s long-awaited solo project surfaces, and youB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™re going to want to be right there with your rod and net for her Victoria performance at the Solstice Cafe.
Ritter is a well-known singer songwriter from the westcoast, perhaps best known as co-founder of The Gruff, and the creator and director of East Vancouver indie-rock choir, The Kingsgate Chorus.
Her new release Bright Mainland, is a record five months in the making, chronicling the past three years of the writerB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s life, in which she moved from Vancouver Island to the mainland, chasing love and opportunity.
The music itself, much like RitterB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s feelings about living in the city, is hard to pin down. Threads of acoustic guitar and viola interweave with pedal steel, electric guitars, and steady, heavy drums. ThereB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s a distinct alt-country feel to the albumB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s aesthetic, while the chord progressions take on an older more traditional folk feel. Overtop of all of this, RitterB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s voice navigates complicated, soaring melodies with surprising simplicity and sweetness.
The record is flooded with talent from western CanadaB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s folk and Indie elite including Adrian Dolan (The Bills/Ruth Moody Band) who is both producer and multi-instrumentalist, while Lucas Goetz (The Deep Dark Woods) rounds out the band with drums and pedal steel.
Featured guests include Ryan Boeur (Fish & Bird), Bear Erickson (Ona) and David Newberry.
There are also appearances by RitterB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s brainchild, The Kingsgate Chorus.
Ritter performs with Newberry at VictoriaB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s Solstice Cafe, 529 Pandora Ave., on Oct. 4 and 5, doors at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $12, with a limited number of advance tickets available at Solstice Cafe.