Ray LaMontagne

Born in Nashua, New Hampshire on June 18th, 1973, Ray LaMontagne decided to quit his shoe factory job at the age of 26 and pursue a career in music after hearing the Stephen Stills song “Treetop Flyer” one morning before work. He went on the road and was picked up by Chrysalis Music Publishing who first recorded his debut album, Trouble. The album was then sold to RCA and in 2004 he re-recorded it over the space of two weeks and, despite only reaching number 189 on the Billboard 200, it sold over 400,000 copies worldwide. LaMontagne is known for his raspy voice, his tendency to perform live in the dark to combat his shyness and has won a number of awards for his music, as well as performed at several charity events. Trouble was a top 5 hit in the UK and the title track reached the top 25 in the UK Singles Chart. His second album Till the Sun Turns Black saw more success when it entered the top 40 in the US; several tracks were also used in US drama series such as ER and One Tree Hill. His third album, Gossip in the Grain, was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the rural English village of Box. Released in 2008, it hit the jackpot by reaching number three in the US. He self-produced God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise in 2010 and received a Grammy nomination in the category for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He followed this with Supernova, his fifth album, reaching number one on Billboard's Top Rock Albums Chart. Ouroboros came in 2016, produced by My Morning Jacket's Jim James. Although the album failed to break into the high charts, it was well received with the critics with several noting its similarities to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. He revealed his seventh studio album Part of the Light in 2018 along with its lead single, “Such a Simple Thing”, before reemerging in 2020 with another wholly self-produced LP entitled Monovision, which was met with positive reviews.