Ripley Johnson's sun-warmed side project turns 1970s private-press country dreams into Portland's most reliably good-vibed psych-country outfit.
MOODS · sun-warmed · laid-back · country-tinged · psychedelic · porch music · unhurried · warm · nostalgic · breezy · cosmic country
BIOGRAPHY
Rose City Band is the vehicle for guitarist and vocalist Ripley Johnson, also known for his work in Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo, built as a nimbler outlet for songwriting inspired by mid to late 1970s private press records. The self-titled debut first appeared on Portland's small Jean Sandwich Records before Thrill Jockey reissued it after the original pressing sold out.
What began as understated home-recorded 'porch music' expanded into a full band featuring pedal steel player Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg and drummer John Jeffrey. Subsequent albums, including 2021's Earth Trip, 2023's Garden Party and 2025's Sol Y Sombra, have pushed the sound toward a richer, sun-soaked cosmic country, with Johnson gradually setting aside psychedelic flourishes for warmer, more direct country songwriting.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
Rose City Band offers a rare kind of ease: Johnson's songwriting avoids fireworks or strain, favoring warmly inviting, uncomplicated arrangements that critics have called more than the sum of their parts. Reviews of Earth Trip praised its lush country charm and impeccable vibes, cementing Johnson's reputation as a songwriter of real, understated skill. As the band has grown from a solo bedroom project into a full lineup with pedal steel and keys, it has steadily refined a sunny, unhurried strain of psychedelic country that stands apart from Johnson's louder work in Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
First time on the station.
PLAYED ON WOKE1
