Ray Lamontagne Tickets Tickets

Ray Lamontagne
Raymond Charles "Ray" LaMontagne is an American folk singer-songwriter born in June 18, 1973. A soft-spoken person who is known for his raspy voice, LaMontagne has won a number of awards for his music.

His inspiration was Stephen Stills" song and since then he has released three albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black and Gossip in the Grain.

LaMontagne refers to himself as a "very private person", and rarely gives interviews. He also usually does not interact with the audience between songs during his live shows. LaMontagne has been known to perform live shows in the dark in order to separate himself from the audience.

Critics have compared LaMontagne's music to that of The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake, and Tim Buckley. LaMontagne claims that he is highly influenced by Stephen Stills, Richard Manuel, and Rick Danko.

Ray LaMontagne won three Boston Music Awards in 2005 for "Album of the Year" (Trouble), "Song of the Year" ("Trouble"), and best male singer/songwriter. He was also nominated for "Act of the Year" and "Male Vocalist of the Year".

Later that year, he was named "Best New Acoustic Rock Artist" on the 2005 XM Nation Awards, and was nominated for "Best New Touring Artist" in the 17th Annual Pollstar Awards. Esquire Magazine awarded LaMontagne a "Best Voice Esky" in the 2006 Esky Music Awards.

Ray LaMontagne was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1973 to a constantly traveling mother who left his musician father, while he was on tour. His father had no contact for years. Because of his father, LaMontagne refrained from most musical activity, instead he spent much of his time in reading.

After graduation, LaMontagne moved away from his family to Lewiston, Maine in order to find a full-time job at a shoe factory in Lewiston. One morning, LaMontagne heard Stephen Stills' song "Treetop Flyer" on the radio as it awoke him for an early work shift. After purchasing the Stills Alone album, LaMontagne decided that he wanted to quit his job at the shoe factory and start a career as a singer-songwriter.

LaMontagne began touring in 1999, although he maintained a side job as a carpenter. In 1999, LaMontagne amassed 10 songs for a demo that he sent to various local music venues.

A friend and business executive heard LaMontagne's recordings and introduced him to Jamie Ceretta of Chrysalis Music Publishing. CMP recorded his first album, and sold it to RCA Records in the US and Echo Records in the UK.

In a period of two weeks, LaMontagne re-recorded Trouble at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California. RCA Records released the album on September 14, 2004.

The album featured performances by Nickel Creek violinist Sara Watkins, and Stephen Stills's daughter Jennifer Stills on another. In the US, the album sold over 250,000 copies. In 2006, "Trouble" became a top 40 hit in the UK, and the album peaked at #5 in that country. LaMontagne performed on Top of the Pops on June 18, 2006.

LaMontagne's second album, Till the Sun Turns Black, was released August 29, 2006 in the US. The album featured more instrumentation than Trouble, including the use of a horn section and string section on several of the songs.

The album peaked at #28 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 28,000 copies in its first week of release. The album also sold enough copies to be a top three heatseeker album in New Zealand.

LaMontagne released his third studio album, Gossip in the Grain, on October 14, 2008 on RCA Records. Working again with producer Ethan Johns, the album also featured LaMontagne's touring band: Jennifer Condos on bass, Eric Heywood on guitar, and Ethan Johns on drums.

In the UK, Trouble was a top 5 hit, and the title track of the album was a top 25 hit. Till the Sun Turns Black was a top 40 hit in the US.

The American singer and songwriter, Ray Lamontagne's entry into the music world was not planned. He heard Stephen Stills on the radio and in that instance decided to change his career path. After putting together a demo album for various labels, Lamontagne found his first break when a popular record label signed him in. His debut album, "Trouble" released in 2004 and was followed by three other successful albums. Belonging to the folk and folk-rock genre, Lamontagne's raspy voice and interesting songs have earned him a huge fan-base. Get your Ray Lamontagne Tickets now and catch the artist in live action!