NOAH KAHAN - UTAH FIRST CREDIT UNION AMP
July 9th, 2024 will be a day I will never forget, Noah Kahan, born in Stafford, Vermont, made his way to Salt Lake City for a beautiful sold out show. Noah has come a far way from his home since he started to release music in 2017, starting with ‘Young Blood’ (Jan. 2017) which accumulated 9 million streams. He went on to release ‘Hurt Somebody’ (Sept. 2017), the title single of his first EP that he released the next year. After his start in 2017, Noah went on to sign with Republic Records, and release quite a discography leading up to his most recent release of ‘Stick Season: We’ll All Be Here (Forever)’.
Kahan has always been open, on stage and off, through his music and social media, about his mental health and the importance of mental health help. To me, this is one of the biggest reasons he’s grown to his 32.3M monthly Spotify streams and multiple sold out shows across the planet. ‘The Busyhead Project’, Noah’s own mental health initiative, takes money from his ticket sales from his tour to donate to support local organizations on the road. His push for help for those, alike to him, who struggle with mental health, is something I find beyond admirable.
I found his music pretty late in the game, sometime last year (2023), after I went through a rough breakup and lost my way. As the year went by, and it felt as though everything in my life began to pile up from there, most notably, my dad being sent on a deployment on the other side of the world. In turn to everything happening, I relied heavily on Noah’s music. From his collaborative release of ‘Call Your Mom’ ft. Lizzy Mcalpine (this one hit me harder than the original), to ‘Maine’ off his ‘Cape Elizabeth EP’, and ‘Paul Revere’ from his ‘Stick Season’ release(s). His music was the only thing that could save me from my own mind, you could say. In the middle of my dad’s deployment, Noah announced he would be making his way to Salt Lake, and right then I knew that I needed to be there. From there I made it my mission, even after it was sold out, to get my butt into a seat at this show.
Jensen McRae, whom opened for Noah, had to have a mention in this review. Her voice was not something I was expecting at all. I make it a point not to listen to openers so I can be surprised, and usually I become a fan of them. Jensen McRae might’ve just outshined every other opener I’ve seen at a show of any size. When I say her voice was like slice of heaven, I truly mean it. Myself and my sister, who I was able to bring along, were in utter shock, jaws dropped. She sang songs both released and unreleased, and finished her set singing with the man of the night, Noah Kahan. She is an artist I very highly recommend.
Noah started with one of his most popular releases, ‘Dial Drunk’, and no, Post Malone did not make an appearance for this song (I was partially bummed, would’ve been so rad!). My sister, Kjirsten, looked to me as he started to sing, and had tears in her eyes. From that moment, I knew the night would be more than memorable. He continued with a few more off his ‘Stick Season: We’ll All Be Here (Forever)’ release(s); ‘New Perspective’ and ’Everywhere, Everything’, before taking us back to his 2019 release ‘False Confidence’ (Busyhead Album). I will say, I held my emotions together so well for so long of the set. I was mostly in shock, but as he played every single one of my favorite songs of his, I lost it at the unexpected announcement of ‘Paul Revere’. Once he had ended ‘Godlight’, he turned to us and said “This next one’s about an old white guy on a horse.”, immediately breaking me down to tears. ‘Paul Revere’ was, and continues to be, the most pivotal song getting me through rough times mentally. He hadn’t played it for a few recent shows and I wasn’t expecting it to be played, even joking to my friends about suing him for emotional distress for it being removed! I admit, I cried like I had just lost a pet. The tears were there, and very real. That moment solidified to me, life gets better and I’ll get out of my hometown and find myself a better life.
He continued on, so many songs of his bringing people all around the venue to tears, singing an unreleased song and many of his current releases. He went to B Stage, preforming ‘Growing Sideways’ and ‘Strawberry Wine’, both off his latest album. When he returned to the main stage he followed ‘She Calls Me Back’ with the emotional, ‘Call Your Mom’. My sister, who had cried to a few songs, stood beside me as she FaceTimed her best friend, with tears pouring down her face, the song being one she’s relied on when time gets tough. The night as a whole healed my sister and I, and sharing this experience with her, due to this review being approved, is something I will never forget.
If you don’t already listen to Noah Kahan (which would, frankly, be insane) I urge you to do so. It isn’t often that you find an artist that speaks to you through their music the way Noah does for me and many of my friends and family, and it’s important to uplift and hold those artists and their music close when you do. His music, every song on every EP or Album, is a constant reminder that no matter who you are or what you go through, you are never alone. If you’d like to help his efforts in fight to help mental health issues, please visit his website, and scroll down to ‘The Busyhead Project’ to donate today.
(*Photos used in this review were taken by Pooneh Ghana, his tour photographer.)
