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"Authentic American folk-music that stirs the soul." --Alan Harrison for No Depression

"Splendid. ★★★★★ " --The Telegraph on Frankie and the No-Go Road  

"One of Americana's finest concept albums," --The Observer on Frankie and the No-Go Road

"Razor-sharp songs and great live performances,"  --The Daily Mirror, April 5 2013

"Top 10 Country Albums of 2013" --The Telegraph, writing of Little Boat  

“A captivating performer,” --R2 Magazine

“Rita is the voice of Northern California,” – Paul Emery of Paul Emery Presents

"Arresting lines and images come thick and fast. Her songs are observational, political and philosophical in an unaffected, organic way." --Songlines Magazine

"More authenticity and integrity than you can shake a stick at," --Maverick Magazine

“In scorching form,” --The Telegraph
 
"She burns with a controlled intensity," -- Lonesome Highway  
"Mesmerizing," --Pure M Magazine

"She narrates the legacies of the working class flawlessly, walking the line between literary genius and front-porch-storyteller with great precision.  The album unfolds in a timeless manner, almost as if it would if Walt Whitman had chosen to wield a banjo instead of a pen." --Mother Church Pew

"A beautiful love letter to the state," -- Beth Ruyak of NPR's Capital Public Radio, regarding the song titled California, from Rita's 2018 release, For Real
 
"Heartfelt country soul set by someone who has 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 Magazine

"Fourth album confirms poetic Californian's arrival into the country pantheon." --Uncut Magazine


"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 Folk Review

"Beyond Nashville's airbrushed celebrations of blue-collar life lies an America of dirt-poor trailer parks and dead factories, one caught vividly by north California's Hosking. Her keening vocals and simple accompaniments are old-timey, but her lament for the Gulf of Mexico and its 'drunk shrimpers in oil-baron hell' is here and now."  --Neil Spencer for The Observer, “Hidden Gems of 2011.”

"A soulful howl from the mountains." --California Bluegrass 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

"With something incisive to say, a poet's way with words folks actually use, and an instrument that delivers the goods, Hosking has talent to burn." --Minor 7th

"Rita Hosking's Burn, one of the genuine surprises in a pretty decent year of music, is right up there with Gillian Welch's The Harrow and the Harvest in the ranks of intelligent, moving, rooted-in-real-folk-music singing and songwriting." --Jerome Clark, Rambles.net

"A sledgehammer to my heart." --Frank Gutch Jr., Rock and Reprise

"There's a grit to her songs and a sinewy toughness to her voice that weave their own spell." --Q Magazine

"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 performances at Strawberry Music Festival.

"The first thing that hits you... is the strength and power in Rita Hosking's voice, and the fierce passion it contains." --Bob Gottlieb, Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange


"Superb country-folk from a brilliant singer-songwriter." --Americana UK

"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 filler and plenty that should go down as all-time favorites." --Craig Huegel, Our Kind of Folk
 

 

First and third photos of Rita are by Rik Keller Photography.  The middle, live photo was taken by Mike Stempe.