Arizona Public Radio | Your Source for NPR News
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KNAU Arizona Public Radio continues to integrate new audio software into both our news and classical services, resulting in some glitches. Thank you for your support and patience through this upgrade.

Ray LaMontagne: From Left Field to Center Stage

Ray LaMontagne.
Ray LaMontagne.
Ray LaMontagne in Studio on World Cafe - 11/22/2006

For someone who harbored no musical aspirations until his early 20s, Ray LaMontagne is making up for lost creative time in a hurry. His husky yet quietly soothing voice draws frequent comparisons to Van Morrison's, while his emotional delivery and powerful lyrics have won him considerable acclaim. LaMontagne's 2004 debut Trouble was a left-field success, and its sequel, Till The Sun Turns Black, is already helping to solidify his place as a major singer-songwriter.

When Trouble began to pick up momentum, LaMontagne was thrust into a period of intensive touring to build on the word-of-mouth buzz his soulful folk music was generating. For Till The Sun Turns Black, he opted to tread new stylistic ground, unveiling a unique song-cycle loosely based on the importance of self-expression, interpersonal communication and other qualities he finds lacking in modern culture. This segment originally aired on Sept. 22, 2006.

Copyright 2006 XPN

David Dye is a longtime Philadelphia radio personality whose music enthusiasm has captivated listeners of World Cafe® since 1991. World Cafe is produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania.