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“Her breed of Nor Cal country folk ain't quite old-timey, and it ain't quite bluegrass, but damn it's sweet. For fans of Emmylou and Gillian, this one's a safe bet. The songs of Rita Hosking are as fragile as a newborn baby, and defiant as a West Virginia coal miner.” — Stuart Mason, Fiddlefreak
“A soulful howl from the mountains.” — California Bluegrass Association
“Rita Hosking's Burn, one of the genuine surprises in a pretty decent year in music, is right up there with Gillian Welch's The Harrow & the Harvest in the ranks of intelligent, moving, rooted-in-real-folk-music singing and songwriting.” — Jerome Clark, Rambles.net
“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
“With an of-the-earth, gnarled voice that ranges from high and sweet to down-home and ferocious, Hosking had the audience in the palm of her hand, and the line to buy her CD's snaked through the Sierra meadows.” — Ami Chen-Mills Naim, Santa Cruz Weekly about Rita's performance at Strawberry Music Festival
“The first thing that hits you... is the strength and power of Rita Hosking's voice, and the fierce passion it contains.” — Bob Gottlieb, Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange
“Heartfealt country soul set from someone who's quietly become one of the best...Hosking is a real talent, and sits up alongside Nanci Griffith as someone who understands the human heart and can touch it every single time.” — Jeremy Searle, Maverick
“From the first time I heard Rita sing, her voice gripped me and did not let go.” — Joe Craven
“With the release of Burn, Rita Hosking has established herself as one of the best in the genre. From top to bottom, this is an excellent CD - brilliantly written, well played and sung with deep conviction. There is not a single song to serve as a filler and plenty that should go down as all-time favorites. ” — Craig Huegel, Our Kind of Folk
“A soulful howl from the mountains.” — California Bluegrass Association
“I've put on quite a few shows over the years, and by far Rita Hosking's was on of my favorites.” — Pat Becker, Little River Inn
“There's a grit to her songs and sinewy toughness to her voice that weave their own spell.” — Q Magazine
“Superb country-folk from a brilliant singer-songwriter.” — Americana UK
“Rita Hosking is amazing! I highly recommend her to any and all!” — Audrey Spector, Berkeley, CA concert presenter
“Brilliant, engaging, charming, funny. Just perfect! We loved them, our audience loved them, we want them back!” — Simon Holderness. Turners Hill Concerts, West Sussex, UK
Kitchen tables, springs, loss, miners, mountains, culture clash, trailers, stray dogs, loggers, hope, forest fires—Rita Hosking's country-folk music is this and more, and always fierce and lovely. Her delivery is, to put it simply, intense. “From the first time I heard Rita sing, her voice gripped me and did not let go.” (Joe Craven.)
That voice, called a “soulful howl from the mountains”(California Bluegrass Association) is calling attention around the country---“What? California girls don't sing like that!!?” But Rita, called “the real thing” by CA acoustic music fans, will tell you about her upbringing in rural Shasta County, and the old-time band of seasoned mountain characters that took her under their wings. “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.) 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's songs have been lauded for story and sense of place, and her performances praised for capturing the audience. Honors include winner of Best Country Album (Vox Pop) in the 2010 Independent Music Awards, winner of the '08 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival, finalist in the '09 Telluride Troubadour Contest, and others as well. “There's a grit to her songs and sinewy toughness to her voice that weave their own spell.” (Q Magazine.)
Come Sunrise, a collection of 11 original songs and Rita's third album, was released in June of 2009. Recorded in Austin, Texas with producer and guitarist Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen, Caroline Herring,) Come Sunrise launches Rita onto the international Americana scene with players such as Brotherton himself, Lloyd Maines, Warren Hood, Glenn Fukunaga, and many more. “Superb country-folk from a brilliant singer-songwriter.” (Americana UK.) In addition to her '07 Silver Stream and '05 Are You Ready? featuring members of her band Cousin Jack, Come Sunrise completes a collection of well received recordings.
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Rita Hosking performs in variable configurations including solo, duo or trio, and often as a quartet called Rita Hosking and Cousin Jack. If you are interested in booking Rita for a concert, festival or private event, please contact:
John Laird, The Americana Agency
919-489-4824
