Ray LaMontagne

Ray LaMontagne is perhaps the most devout Stephen Stills fan on the planet, claiming to have quit his job to pursue music after hearing a Stills song, then collaborating with Stills’ daughter on his debut album. Stills is an appropriately ego-free inspiration for LaMontagne, who unlike, say, John Mayer, keeps his profile consciously low, rarely publicizing himself or scarcely interacting with his audiences (he’s occasionally played in the dark to keep the attention off himself). Pensive but refreshingly devoid of histrionics, his music mirrors his quiet personality, at times evoking Nick Drake at his most balanced, or Van Morrison at his most meditative.