An acoustically based work, the album earned Raffoul a good bit of regional industry attention, and helped land him some very lucrative opening slots for national-level rock acts. For his next work, Raffoul assembled a full band, and recorded the 2004 release, Like a Star. A strong seller regionally, Like a Star led to even more great opening slots, adding stage work with Collective Soul, Kid Rock, Richard Marx, and Counting Crows to the ever growing list. While a live record -- Live at Migration Hall -- would also be released in 2004, it was to be 2006 that was to be Raffoul's biggest -- and most career defining year. That would be the year that he won the Bon Jovi "Have a Nice Gig" competition, which led to an opening slot at Giants Stadium in New Jersey for the aforementioned Bon Jovi (and his band, obviously) along with fellow opener Nickelback. With his star in the ascendant, Raffoul soon went back to work crafting new songs and music, and in 2008 released his third album, Big Sky. The album was the first of Raffoul's to see national release, thanks mostly to the word of mouth buzz created by his contest win in 2006. ~ Chris True