Ojai ( /ˈoʊhaɪ/ OH-hy) is a city in Ventura County, California, USA. It is situated in the Ojai Valley, northwest of Los Angeles and southeast of Santa Barbara (10 miles long by 3 miles (4.8 km) wide, approximately, or 16 kilometers by 5 kilometers), surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,461 at the 2010 census, down from 7,862 at the 2000 census.

The town is known mostly for its hotels and services catering to tourism, recreation including strong hiking, and spiritual retreats, as well as for a strong farmers' market on Sundays and an abundance of local organic agriculture. It also has an abundance of small businesses specializing in local and ecologically friendly art, design, and home improvement - such as galleries and a solar power company - as chain stores (other than a few gas stations) are forbidden by Ojai city law to encourage local small business development and keep the town unique.

The city's self-styled nickname is "The Shangri-La of Southern California", referring to the similarities between the health-and-spirituality-focused region and the mystical sanctuary of James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon.

Raymond "Ray" Charles Jack LaMontagne ( /lɑːmɒnˈteɪn/; born June 18, 1973) is a Grammy-award winning American singer-songwriter. LaMontagne has released four studio albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain and God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after hearing an album by Stephen Stills. Critics have compared LaMontagne's music to The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake, and Tim Buckley. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children.

LaMontagne was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1973. Despite his father's background in music, LaMontagne avoided the activity and spent time reading fantasy novels in the forest. He spent time in several different states in his youth. In his early teens he lived in Morgan, Utah, a small rural town of 2000 people. He was known for being an aloof, and indifferent to his education. He was much more interested in drawing images of Dungeons and Dragons than he was in his school work. He was well liked, and revered as somewhat of a mild nuisance. After graduating from high school, LaMontagne moved to Lewiston, Maine and found work in a shoe factory.