Ray LaMontagne New Oct. Album, Tour

Extensive North American tour with Leona Naess.

By Fred Mills

With his new album Gossip in the Grain en route, Ray LaMontagne will be kicking off an extensive North American tour in conjunction with the record, which is due Oct. 14 on RCA. LaMontagne hits the road on Sept. 30 with a show in Indianapolis; the tour wraps Nov. 9 in Seattle. Opening for LaMontagne is Leona Naess, who herself has a new album, Thirteens, out Sept. 23 on Verve Forecast (she also guests on LaMontagne’s record).

LaMontagne recorded with producer Ethan Johns in Box, England. Unlike his two previous albums, Trouble and Till The Sun Turns Black, which were largely solo affairs with Johns handling much of the instrumentation, Gossip In The Grain sees him joined by members of his touring band, bassist Jennifer Condos and guitarist Eric Heywood (with Johns on drum duties). According to his label, the album “touches upon a range of styles and musical settings- spanning pastoral folk, railroad blues, front porch country, and plangent balladry… his most creative and emotionally expansive collection to date.”

Well, of course it is!

Ray LaMontagne Tour Dates:


Sept 30       Murat Theatre                           Indianapolis, IN
Oct 1           Chicago Theatre                          Chicago, IL
Oct 3            Union Theatre                            Madison, WI
Oct 4           State Theatre                            Minneapolis, MN    
Oct 6           Royal Oak Music Theatre          Royal Oak, MI    
Oct 7           Queen Elizabeth Theatre          Toronto, ON
Oct 9           Opera House                            Boston, MA
Oct 10        Opera House                             Boston, MA
Oct 11       Radio City Music Hall                 New York, NY
Oct 13           Keswick Theatre                     Philadelphia, PA
Oct 14        The Strathmore Music Center    Washington, DC
Oct 16           Meymandi Concert Hall           Raleigh, NC
Oct 17        Bijou Theatre                             Knoxville, TN
Oct 18           The Tabernacle                        Atlanta, GA
Oct 19            Ryman Auditorium                 Nashville, TN
Oct 21            Uptown Theatre                      Kansas City, MO
Oct 23         Verizon Wireless Theatre           Houston, TX    
Oct 24         Majestic Theatre                         Dallas, TX     
Oct 25         Paramount Theatre                     Austin, TX
Oct 27            Macky Auditorium                  Boulder, CO
Oct 28         Murray Theatre                      Salt Lake City, UT
Oct 30         Wiltern Theatre                       Los Angeles, CA
Nov 1          Spreckels Theatre                     San Diego, CA
Nov 3            Paramount Theatre                   Oakland, CA
Nov 5          Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall     Portland, OR
Nov 6            McDonald Theatre                    Eugene, OR
Nov 8            Vogue Theatre                       Vancouver, BC
Nov 9           Marion Oliver McCaw Hall        Seattle, WA