Jason Mraz has experienced a rising music career over the last few years; he continues to possess a refreshing insight and a refusal to bow to mainstream expectations, resulting in his entrée into the pop music world so exciting to watch.

Singer/songwriter Jason Mraz was born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia and grew up as a big fan of The Dave Matthews Band. He first developed a love of music through musical theatre and after finishing high school moved to New York and attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy but dropped out a year later. His love of music remained so much that he took up the guitar and began writing songs.

“I said to myself if I’m going to pursue this career, I want to inject some humour in this, get some poetry into the songs and make sure the audience stays interested.” … Jason Mraz

Mraz eventually ended up in San Diego, CA and landed a weekly gig at Java Joes, a local hot spot along with drummer and sidekick Toca Rivera; his Djembe style percussion and charismatic stage presence added to Mraz’s one-of-a-kind comedic performance. It was precisely that un-checked exuberance that made Mraz’s live shows one of the most talked about in years. He quickly built up a coast-to-coast legion of loyal fans that followed his every move.

Jason accomplished his mission with the help of producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer) and learned first hand the pressures of crafting a major league debut album, Waiting For My Rocket To Come which was released in 2002; it was a blend of rock, country, jazz and hip-hop along with his coffeehouse experiences. It reached platinum in July 2004 and Mraz began touring to support the album and in June and July of 2005 opened for Alanis Morrissette’s tour.

“That's kind of what I do with my songs; write them in a dream-like manner. It's up to people to swallow it however they want.” … Mraz

His second album Mr A-Z was released in 2005 and in December he earned a Grammy nomination for ‘Best Engineered Album: Non-Classical’. He had the opportunity to open for the Rolling Stones on five shows of their world tour in 2005 and visited the UK and Ireland to headline at the annual Fair St. Louis. During 2007 he debuted the single The Beauty In Ugly, a previously written song for the ABC show, Ugly Betty. A performance of Mraz’s track Geek In The Pink by American Idol contestant Chris Richardson earned the song increased downloads at the American iTunes Store and massive recognition. Jason is now promoting his latest album We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things and subsequent singles Lucky and I’m Yours.

Through his countless shows, Mraz has the knack to add fun in his performance to keep the audience engaged, providing much interaction; he is constantly mixing things up, never doing the same song the same way twice. His melodies are up-tempo but relaxing – something you can listen to in any mood. Mraz has a pleasing voice with his lyrics always adding his comedic personality into them; if you have the opportunity to see him live, he’s quite a treat.

Where does the dedicated singer/songwriter see himself ten years from now: “Hopefully retired? Let’s blow it up for a while, hell, let’s blow it up for one year even. I can live with going back to my own thing in San Diego and playing to my regular crowd. In the meantime – explore, explore, explore.” … Mraz