RAY LAMONTAGNE with special guest THE LOW ANTHEM
Merrill Auditorium Portland, ME
April 11 at 7:30pm

Tickets go on-sale Friday, February 6 at NOON. Tickets are available at the PortTix Box Office at 20 Myrtle Street, charge by phone at (207) 842-0800 and online www.livenation.com.

Tickets are $35.50 and $29.50. Reserved seating, all ages.

Ray LaMontagne announces his first North American tour dates of 2009 today including an April 11 date at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine. The tour is LaMontagne's second in support of his latest album Gossip In The Grain which achieved the Maine singer-songwriter's highest chart number debuting at #3 on Billboard Charts its week of release. The album was a huge digital sensation being the top selling album on iTunes that first week.

Fans will also be given the opportunity to buy VIP Charity Packages including front row seats through Tickets-for-Charity.com®. A portion of each package purchased through their website will automatically benefit The National Children's Cancer Society, while purchasers will be able to donate further proceeds to a wide variety of other charities.

Concert goers will be treated to a different show than they have seen in past years. Spin remarked in a review of a Radio City Music Hall show wrote that the, "…laughter, both by LaMontagne and the audience -- was something new. His fresh style showcased both on his new album and in the performance Saturday, illustrated a near flawless transition from a front porch in Maine to the front of the most prestigious stage in the world."

Rolling Stone raved about the album and especially LaMontagne's voice saying in the review it was "full of the warm yearning of a young Van Morrison…" Most reviews remarked on a more upbeat attitude and a new looser even more soulful sound than previous releases. That sound is epitomized on the Stax inspired horn-led first single, "You Are The Best Thing."

With his remarkable, rough hewn vocals and evocative, finely etched songs, LaMontagne has, in but a few short years, become the rare artist of whom the world waits with to see what each new work will reveal. Now, on his third album, the singer and songwriter has crafted a warm and welcoming record which unveils heretofore untapped depths of ingenuity and optimism. Touching upon a range of styles and musical setting # spanning pastoral folk, railroad blues, front porch country, and plangent balladry # Gossip In The Grain proves to be LaMontagne's most creative and emotionally expansive collection to date.