Ray LaMontagne's 'Long Way Home' Live Under the Stars

Ray LaMontagne visited suburban Seattle for two nights as part of the tour in support of his new album, Long Way Home. On this early September evening, he and his crowd seemed comfortable and yes, right at home.

By the time we took our seats on the hillside lawn overlooking the crowd and stage at Pacific Northwest winery Château Ste. Michelle, Ray LaMontagne was only minutes away from beginning his second show of both the tour and 2024.

LaMontagne's career began in the early 2000s when he quit his job at a shoe factory to pursue music full-time. His breakthrough came with his debut album Trouble in 2004, the title track becoming his first hit.

In 2006, his second album, Till the Sun Turns Black, expanded his range and solidified his reputation as a songwriter, recording artist and live draw. 2008's Gossip in the Grain brought wider commercial success, while in 2010, God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise earned him a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

A multi-year period of extensive touring ended in 2012. When LaMontagne returned it was in 2014 with Supernova, produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, an album removed from his earlier, more acoustic-driven sound, incorporating psychedelic rock elements. That record kicked off several years of sonic exploration, with LaMontagne finally getting back to his roots, albeit with the benefit of added years of growth and sophistication, culminating in his latest, Long Way Home.

This night's show opened with "It Takes Me Back," one of two tracks LaMontagne released last year as an interstitial between 2022's full-length MONOVISION and the aforementioned Long Way Home. Those two tracks were also the first releases since he parted ways with his longtime label, RCA. Open, vulnerable and communicative both on the new record and on stage, it appears the business change and newfound independence have done his head and heart good.

A full six of the 13 numbers in LaMontagne's set were from the new album, including the three singles: "Step Into Your Power", "I Wouldn't Change a Thing" and the title track. While the new music more than fit in with and stood up to the best of his repertoire, it was when he dipped into his catalog that the crowd came most alive. "Jolene," from Trouble, has not suffered from being a mainstay of his set. It is still conveyed with freshness and conviction - and received that way by his audience.

"Beg, Steal or Borrow" from God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise was another standout. If there was anything rote or rushed in an otherwise soulful, relaxed set, it was the final song, "Trouble", with large portions of the crowd already on their feet, headed to the exits, as Montagne and his band revisited the song that introduced him to the charts 20 years ago.

LaMontagne's voice manages to be both weathered and tender, and while he has perhaps not (yet) had the career to fully support the comparison, it is an original, distinctive American voice in the lineage of Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris, capable of conjuring Sam Cooke, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell in the course of one set of songs.

Setlist: It Takes Me Back; Step Into Your Power; Strong Enough; I Wouldn’t Change a Thing; Roll Me Mama, Roll Me; And They Called Her California; Such a Simple Thing; My Lady Fair; Beg, Steal or Borrow; The Way Things Are; Long Way Home; Jolene; Trouble.

Ray LaMontagne's tour continues into October. Details are on his website. Chateau Ste. Michelle's Summer Concert Series is not done yet, either. More information here.