Ray LaMontagne—the celebrated Grammy Award winner—returns today from a 4-year LP hiatus with his highly anticipated ninth studio album, Long Way Home, released via the independent artist’s newly created label, Liula Records. Listen or purchase here.
The breakout lead single from the project, "Step Into Your Power," has just hit #1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay, Mediabase Triple A, and Americana Singles charts, marking LaMontagne's third career #1. Watch the lyric video for the track, animated by his son Tobias, here. The foot-tapping, nostalgia-laden track features choral backing vocals from The Secret Sisters. Watch the music video for the second single, "Long Way Home," here. A somber and bittersweet rumination on times past, the video features visuals from Tobias and collage art by his daughter-in-law Bella. Hear the latest single, "I Wouldn't Change a Thing," here.
At its core, Long Way Home resonates deeply with LaMontagne’s youth. He recalls seeing Townes Van Zandt perform live at a small club in Minneapolis when he was 21. A line from "To Live Is To Fly" stuck with him ever since: “When here you been is good an gone, all you keep is the getting there.”
LaMontagne reflects, "Thirty years later, it occurs to me that every song on Long Way Home is, in one way or another, honoring the journey. The languorous days of youth and innocence. The countless battles of adulthood, some won, more often lost. It's been a long hard road, and I wouldn’t change a minute. It took me nine songs to express what Townes managed to say in one line. I guess I still have a lot to learn.”
For the past two decades, LaMontagne has carved out a singular space in modern music. Despite overflowing critical acclaim, he’s opted out of the spotlight and its accompanying celebrity, residing in the remote hills of Western Massachusetts. The New York Times observes, “Visiting Ray LaMontagne is like going back to another century.” His distinctive voice, described by Rolling Stone as an “impeccably weathered tenor croon,” continues to serve as a conduit for era-defining melodies and songwriting. Across eight studio albums, LaMontagne has let his songs and story speak for themselves, striking a deep chord in the American subconscious. As expected from his extensive and lauded discography, LaMontagne delivers once again with a cohesive and impressive effort on his ninth album.
Produced in tandem with Seth Kauffman (Floating Action, Angel Olsen, Lana Del Rey), Long Way Home’s nine moving tracks recall the folk-rock explosion of the early seventies while fitting neatly into the modern Americana revival, a movement LaMontagne helped fuel. Recorded over a few weeks in his home studio, LaMontagne enlisted both long-time and new collaborators for the record. The Secret Sisters provide backing vocals on the first three tracks, while the album was engineered and mixed by LaMontagne, Kauffman, and Ariel Bernstein.
The album artwork furthers the sense that LaMontagne is offering a glimpse into his world: the piece, a woodblock print by artist Barbara S. Beck, hangs above LaMontagne’s desk, where he has written most of his albums. Long Way Home is LaMontagne’s first full-length effort since 2020’s MONOVISION, a stripped-back solo recording praised by American Songwriter as "soothing, but never clichéd warmth in retro-style."
In support of the album, LaMontagne will embark on a solo headline U.S. tour with support from The Secret Sisters, with stops in Austin, New Orleans, and Orlando. Tickets are on sale now—see below for dates. Full show details can be found here. The nine new shows, beginning September 17, will run midway through the previously announced tour with Gregory Alan Isakov. See the full tour routing below.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne has released eight studio albums since his 2004 debut, Trouble, which is certified RIAA Platinum. 2006’s Till the Sun Turns Black and 2008’s Gossip in the Grain received RIAA Gold certifications. LaMontagne has earned two Grammy nominations and won Best Contemporary Folk Album for God Willin' & the Creek Don’t Rise. In 2010, he began recording as Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs. His debut album earned him four awards, including three Boston Music Awards (Best Male Singer/Songwriter, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year) and an XM Nation Music Award for Acoustic Rock Artist of the Year. He has also received nominations from the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards for Best New Touring Artist, the BRIT Awards for International Breakthrough Act, the MOJO Awards for Best New Act, and was named Best Voice in 2006 by Esquire.
TRACK LIST
LONG WAY HOME
1. Step Into Your Power
2. I Wouldn’t Change A Thing
3. Yearning
4. And They Called Her California
5. La De Dum, La De Da
6. My Lady Fair
7. The Way Things Are
8. So, Damned, Blue
9. Long Way Home
SOLO HEADLINE TOUR DATES
September 17—El Paso, TX—Abraham Chavez Theatre
September 19—Austin, TX—ACL Live at the Moody Theater
September 20—Dallas, TX—Music Hall at Fair Park
September 21—New Orleans, LA—Orpheum Theatre
September 23—Chattanooga, TN—Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium
September 24—Birmingham, AL—Alabama Theatre
September 26—St. Petersburg, FL—The Mahaffey Theater
September 27—Fort Lauderdale, FL—Broward Center for the
Performing Arts - Au Rene Theater
September 28—Orlando, FL—Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center
for the Performing Arts
TOUR DATES WITH GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV
September 4—Missoula, MT—KettleHouse Amphitheater
September 6—Seattle, WA—Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery Amphitheatre
September 7—Seattle, WA—Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery Amphitheatre
September 8—Bend, OR—Hayden Homes Amphitheatre
September 10—Jacksonville, OR—Britt Pavilion
September 11—Berkeley, CA—Greek Theatre
September 12—Los Angeles, CA—YouTube Theater
September 14—San Diego, CA— Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
September 15—Phoenix, AZ—Arizona Federal Theatre
October 1—Charleston, SC—Firefly Distillery
October 2—Asheville, NC—ExlporeAsheville. com Arena
October 4—Cincinnati, OH—Andrew J Brady Center
October 5—Indianapolis, IN—Everwise Amphitheater
October 6—Franklin, TN—FirstBank Amphitheater
October 8—Baltimore, MD—Pier Six Pavilion
October 9—Charlottesville, VA—Ting Pavilion
October 11—Atlanta, GA—Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
October 12—Charlotte, NC—Skyla Credit Union Amphitheater
October 13—Raleigh, NC—Red Hat Amphitheater
