Like Bob Dylan’s post-1965 music, the first two albums by The Band changed the trajectory of folk music. Throw Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Van Morrison into the mix along with The Band, and you might arrive at a short list of the music that influenced New Hampshire-born singer and songwriter Ray LaMontagne. His 2004 debut album Trouble established him as a singer with a smooth delivery and an ear for hooks. LaMontagne scored a hit with his 2008 song “You Are the Best Thing,” which he wrote with Danny Holland. “You Are the Best Thing” is exemplary pop-soul-Americana, complete with catchy horns and LaMontagne’s soul-meets-folk vocals. Over the years, I’ve liked all of his albums, which continue to define one aspect of Americana. On his 2024 release Long Way Home, he sings like Morrison or one of his avowed influences, Stephen Stills, and at its best — as on the title track — LaMontagne takes folk-rock-soul into directions undreamed of in Robbie Robertson’s philosophy. Supporting LaMontagne Friday and Saturday at the Ryman will be The Weather Station, which is led by singer and songwriter Tamara Lindeman. The band’s 2025 album Humanhood sounds like Lindeman was listening to, say, Joni Mitchell and Stereolab for inspiration, and it’s a compelling — and catchy — reworking of classic folk music.
7:30 p.m. Sept. 4-5 at the Ryman
116 Rep. John Lewis Way N.
