WILTON – Perhaps the title of Ray LaMontagne’s CD, “Trouble,” is apt. The 31-year-old singer-songwriter has had plenty of it in his life.

Born in New Hampshire, LaMontagne grew up in a decidedly unstable home. His father, a musician and biker, left when LaMontagne was 4. His mother had six children to rear alone. They moved every year or so, going anywhere they could “find a safe haven,” he said.

“It was kind of a gypsy existence, though not that romantic,” he said.

Although musically inclined as a boy, LaMontagne said he wasn’t pushed in that direction. He spent his time reading and drawing, making himself “invisible” as a way of surviving the hardships of his life. He started pressing his own albums in 1999, and although he didn’t become seriously involved in music until his 20s, LaMontagne’s challenging life has provided fodder for his music.

“Life is just life,” he said philosophically. “Any artist, once you find your method of expressing yourself, it’s just input and output.”

The last song of the last set on the last day of the Maine Festival in 2001 was a virtual beginning for him. That’s when he met and befriended Ron Clayton, a Portland advertising executive who helped launch the artist’s recording career. Clayton “dropped $20” for one of LaMontagne’s self-published CDs – amazing to him at the time, he said.

Clayton sent LaMontagne’s music to an old college friend in the music business in California. That led to a series of events culminating with LaMontagne’s signing a contract with RCA records in the United States and Echo Records in Great Britain.

Before the record contract, LaMontagne made his living primarily as a carpenter. He lived in a van for about a year, migrating through Minnesota, Utah and Massachusetts. He landed in Maine seven years ago and recently bought a home in Wilton with advance money from the recording contract.

He likes his home in the little town next to Wilson Pond.

“For now, it’s serving the purpose,” he said. He’d like to have a small farm with animals someday, he said.

The melodic music of LaMontagne, described by Rolling Stone magazine as “the backwoods Van Morrison,” emanates daily from a speaker outside Everyday Music in nearby Farmington, said employee Meg Reid.

He said he’s surprised by the amount of recognition his first major album is receiving. As of Wednesday, sales were at almost 61,000 copies, according to Cat De Felice of Spinlab, who represents him.

“I’m pleased,” he said. “It’s been a long process. It’s been six years of keeping at it.”

His newfound celebrity makes him a bit uncomfortable. He is photo-shy and displays no photographs on his disc or his Web site, www.raylamontagne.com.

“It’s intentional,” he said.

“I’m not very comfortable with myself; I’ve never been comfortable in my own skin,” he added. But he’s getting more comfortable with being in the limelight. This month, he’s scheduled to appear on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” on Jan. 19. His performance on Jan. 14 at the Big Easy in Portland is sold out.

Of this transition into national stardom, he said, “It feels like a natural progression. I’m easing into it.”