Rita Hosking and Cousin Jack (Sean Feder, Bill Dakin, and Andy Lentz)
"Rita Hosking has one of those perfectly imperfect voices necessary to do folk music right. An overtrained or flawless vibrato can ruin a good tune about broken lives or crossing over or prison wardens who are happiest when the jailhouse is full. But Hosking keeps it beautifully raw and real in the pitchy tradition of Emmylou Harris or Lucinda Williams. Musically, her bluegrass-tinged performances hearken back to the best of American music without mimicking the greats.
Close harmonies and strong backup provided by her band, Cousin Jack, round out a sound rooted firmly in traditional music but distinct to an artist with a particular lyrical love for the mountains and the lives they envelop." --Adrienne van der Valk for the Eugene Weekly
"Hosking's two biggest assists are her singular voice (a soulful howl from the mountains) and quality songwriting. Between tunes she talked a bit about her upbringing near Hatchet Mountain (Fall River area). She talked about the devastating Fountain Fire prior to playing her great bluegrass tune "Kitchen Table and Chairs." This combination of quality storytelling, genuine personality, super songs and that voice have put Hosking into the big leagues. After a full weekend of amazing performances, I woke up Tuesday morning with her tune "Are You Ready" playing in my head," Jim Dyar of Redding's D.A.T.E. Magazine, on Rita's performance at Spring Strawberry Music Festival, 2007.
