Northern California’s Rita Hosking sings of forest fires, culture clash, dishes, black holes and hope. Her original songs, stories, and soul-stirring, country-folk voice are partnered with versatile multi-instrumentalist Sean Feder on dobro, banjo, and guitar, and Bill Dakin on upright bass. Together, they deliver what Acoustic Magazine calls “timeless, unhurried elegance.”
With her songs and her rich tenor voice, Alice Wallace conjures the atmospheric sound of the Golden State’s canyons and deserts, mountains and crashing waves, its crowning beauty and its tragic losses. At the same time, the supple-voiced Wallace tells her own and others’ stories, weaving tales that resonate as we grapple with so many disturbing national issues.
Rita Hosking:
“In scorching form,” (Telegraph), Northern California’s own Rita Hosking sings of forest fires, culture clash, demolition derbies, the working class and hope. From NPR’s Weekend Edition to Bob Harris’ BBC show, Rita is moving audiences across the globe with her stories in song and soul-stirring 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 with capturing the audience. Honors include winner of the 2008 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival, finalist in the 2009 Telluride Music Festival Troubadour Contest, and honors in the International Songwriting Contest and West Coast Songwriters’ Association. “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.
Alice Wallace:
It’s a song about taking the risk to do what you love,” Alice Wallace says of the soaring track, “The Blue,” which yields a lyric entitling her spellbinding new album. With Into the Blue, the singer-songwriter taps into the influence of her native California – conjuring the atmospheric sound of the Golden State’s canyons and deserts, mountains and crashing waves, its crowning beauty and its tragic losses. At the same time, the supple-voiced Wallace tells her own and others’ stories, weaving tales that resonate as we grapple with so many disturbing national issues.
Into the Blue is Wallace’s fourth album but marks her debut on the brand-new Rebel Road label. Having spent the past six years writing songs and touring the nation – from AMERICANAFEST® to county fairs, barrooms to coffeehouses – Alice Wallace is ready to break out. “It takes bravery to ‘sail away into the blue’ and grab it,” she says. “It took me until about six years ago to finally take the plunge, quit my job and go for it. I haven’t looked back since.”
Alice grew up around the sounds of her parents playing guitars and singing, with “Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, their favorite,” she recalls. She also absorbed the country rock of ‘70s-era Linda Ronstadt on the turntable. “I really taught myself to sing by mimicking their styles,” she says. “The powerful belt that Linda has. The emotive lilt to Emmylou’s voice. Trying to navigate those different elements helped me find my own voice nestled in between all that.” She first picked up guitar at age 10, with her dad teaching her to finger-pick at 15, and by senior year in high school, Wallace was performing original compositions at the local Borders bookstore. It was in college that she discovered yet another calling: yodeling, that haunting vocal style that blends blues, country, and western. Wallace’s own “A Little Yodel” added her to the ranks of legends Patsy Montana and Carolina Cotton.
