Jason Mraz was born and raised in Virginia, where he was a fan of the Dave Matthews Band. But it wasn’t until his participation in musical theater that he first developed a love for music. He graduated high school and moved to New York where he attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. However, he dropped out a year later, took up guitar and began to focus on songwriting. He returned to Virginia for a short while, but felt called to the warm coast of California and moved to San Diego in 1999.