Ray LaMontagne - Jolene

In the years before his whispered roar caught on, Ray LaMontagne was a worker at a shoe factory in Lewiston, Maine. He was, like many of you, an average person with an average job. He had never pursued music as a career, and by all accounts had no interest in being a musician. He had (and still has) a wife and two lovely children and a log cabin (which he built himself) in which they all lived. He lived a quietly idyllic life some might say.

One morning, as the story goes, he awoke to Stephen Stills singing "Treetop Flyer" on his alarm clock radio. The sheer force of hearing the voice on the radio was, in no uncertain terms, a completely religious experience. Something inside him was suddenly set free, and as if he had been born to become a songwriter all along, he skipped work that day to seek out the Stephen Stills album Stills Alone. Immediately, literally that day, he quit his job and he began a quest which would eventually produce his first album, 2004's undeniably moving release Trouble. Produced by legendary producer Ethan Johns (who has previously worked with Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon and The Jayhawks just to name a few), the comparisons to Van Morrison are both complimentary and convincing. If this sort of thing is your cup of tea, which it most certainly is mine, you will walk away from this album speechlessly transformed in much the same way its creator was through the means of its conception.

If you should be in attendance at the Bonnaroo Festival this year, you will have an opportunity to see what all the talk is about. If you can't wait until then, you may be able to catch him at one of these dates in a city near you. Reports of his live show tell me that if you miss him, it will be like hearing a glorious comet rocket past you that would have given a glow to your life that could never be forgotten had you just taken the time to turn around and watch it pass.

01/23 3rd and Lindsley Nashville, TN
01/25 Workplay Theatre Birmingham, AL
01/26 Rudyard Kipling Louisville, KY
01/29 The Troubadour Los Angeles, CA
02/10 Rex Theatre Pittsburgh, PA
02/11 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, OH
02/12 Magic Stick Detroit, MI
02/14 Birdy's Indianapolis, IN
02/15 Double Door Chicago, IL
02/16 High Noon Saloon Madison, WI
02/17 Fine Line Music Café Minneapolis, MN
02/19 Fox Theatre & Café Boulder, CO

BONUS TRACK: Hold You In My Arms