One of the most distinctive voices in music, lauded singer/songwriter and Brit Award nominee, Ray LaMontagne released his much-anticipated third album, Gossip In The Grain, last October to great praise, and with hit songs like “You are the Best Thing” it is easy to see why.
Recorded with returning producer Ethan Johns in Box, England, and touching upon a range of styles and musical settings — spanning pastoral folk, railroad blues, front porch country, and balladry — Gossip In The Grain proves to be his most creative and emotionally expansive collection to date. Whereas LaMontagne’s two previous albums were largely solo affairs, with Johns serving as multi-tasking instrumentalist, Gossip In The Grain sees him joined by members of his touring band, bassist Jennifer Condos and guitarist Eric Heywood, with Johns handling drum duties.
As LaMontagne explains: “It was time to open up a little bit more, not be quite so reserved in my choice of songs that I wanted to record.” Recently called by Vanity Fair “a fresh reminder that the genuine artist is not yet an extinct species”, Gossip In The Grain reconfirms Ray LaMontagne as an artist and a craftsman without limits, a songwriter who is able to work his melodic gifts and distinctive lyricism through any of the myriad musical traditions that catch his fancy.
Ray LaMontagne will play the Royal Theatre Castlebar on Sunday September 6. Tickets are on sale now and available from €35 on www.ticketmaster.ie as well as from The Royal Box Office on 0818 300 000. For further information visit www.theroyal.ie or www.ticketmaster.ie
