Ray LaMontagne is said to be doing just fine after he collapsed on stage in Nashville over the weekend, reportedly due to heat related dehydration.
The Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter was performing his 2004 song “Jolene” (not related to the Dolly Parton song of the same name) at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville when he was overcome and toppled slowly backways. Crew can be seen immediately rushing to his aid, reveals fan-filmed footage doing the rounds on social media.
Following his ordeal, the 53-year-old artist “is in good hands with the local EMS (emergency medical services),” reads a statement from his reps, Consequence of Sound reports. He’s “doing well now and is grateful for everyone’s understanding,” the message continues. Billboard has reached out to LaMontagne’s management.
LaMontagne isn’t the only one feeling the heat in Tennessee. Nashville has experienced its hottest start to September in a century. The heatwave lifted the mercury past 100 degrees F on the day of his concert, Saturday, Sept. 5, and the National Weather Service has assigned a “Heat Alert” to Nashville.
LaMontagne is currently touring the United States for the 20th anniversary of his critically-lauded debut album Trouble, with special guests The Weather Station. His tour was scheduled to continue Tuesday night, Sept. 8 at The Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theatre in Syracuse, N.Y., Sept. 8.
With Trouble, initially released through RCA and which was given a 20th anniversary reissue, LaMontagne announced himself as an artist of the highest caliber, with a fully-formed sound that could’ve been unearthed from a time capsule, a rare combination of Americana, folk, rock, and soul. Trouble caught many purists off guard, and LaMontagne’s career was away.
“This record is important to me for that reason,” he told Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast in 2025. “It’s the record that pointed me in this direction, and I know that’s just what I was supposed to do.”
He has since released eight more studio albums — the latest, 2024’s Long Way Home, on his own Liula Records — and won the Grammy for best contemporary folk album in 2011 for God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise.
LaMontagne has made one appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, with 2008’s “You Are The Best Thing” (peaking at No. 90), and landed nine titles on the Billboard 200, including three top 10s: 2008’s Gossip In The Grain, 2010’s God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise and 2014’s Supernova, all of which peaked at No. 3.
