Jason Mraz

A former busker with a self-described hippie streak, singer/songwriter/surfer Jason Mraz has a gift for observations about life’s silver linings and effervescent melodies that are a staple of contemporary pop radio and bonfire strum-alongs. Born in Mechanicsville, Virginia, in 1977, Mraz was a natural performer from his early days in school plays and talent shows. In high school, he fell under the sway of the local jam circuit before picking up the guitar himself at 18. Mraz’s eternally sunny pop seemed destined for California, so he headed west in 1999 and, after making the rounds of San Diego’s coffeehouse scene, secured a weekly gig at Java Joe's, which once hosted a residency by Mraz’s future tourmate Jewel. In 2002 he signed a record deal and released his debut, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which was propelled by the slippery half-spoken lyrics and deep-pocket groove of "The Remedy (I Won’t Worry).” Through the 2000s, Mraz toured and recorded relentlessly, issuing increasingly polished albums—2005’s Mr. A-Z and 2008’s We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things—that float effortlessly in the warm cross-currents of melodic folk, rootsy pop, and soft rock. He returned to a simpler acoustic sound with 2014’s Yes!, a shuffling folk-pop album backed by all-female band Raining Jane. In 2017, he appeared alongside singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles on her What's Inside: Songs from Waitress and made his Broadway debut in the Waitress role of Dr. Pomatter that same year. The transition from the studio to the stage was another seemingly effortless triumph in a career that’s been filled with them.