Rita Hosking ~
"In scorching form" (UK Telegraph), Northern California's own Rita Hosking sings of forest fires, culture clash, demolition derbies, the working class and hope. From major CA music festivals to Bob Harris's BBC show, Rita is moving audiences around the globe with her stories in song and doubly sweet and sinewy voice, "a captivating performer," (R2 Magazine.)
Rita's style of country-folk has been lauded for story and sense of place, and her performances praised for capturing the audience. Honors 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.
Her new release, Burn, is a fiery follow-up to Come Sunrise, which won Best Country Album Vox Pop in the 2010 Independent Music Awards. Burn was recently placed in the top 10 "YoungFemale Artist releases for 2011" by No Depression magazine, and listed as a "Hidden Gem of 2011" by the UK's Observer. In an Oregon reviewer's words, Burn is "a sledgehammer to my heart" (Frank Gutch Jr.)
Like Come Sunrise, Burn is a collection of 11 original songs produced by Rich Brotherton of the Robert Earl Keen Band in Austin, Texas. Players include Rita Hosking (vocal, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Rich Brotherton (guitars, lap steel, mandola, harmonies), Glenn Fukunaga (upright bass), Sean Feder (dobro, banjo, percussion), Andy Lentz (fiddle), Tom Van Schaik (drums), and Marty Muse (pedal steel).
In live performance, Rita will play solo but most often as a duo with her husband Sean Feder on Dobro and banjo, and as a quartet with her illustrious ensemble dubbed "Cousin Jack"--Sean Feder (Dobro/banjo), Andy Lentz (fiddle) and Bill Dakin (upright bass.)