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When I first listened to Noah Kahan’s “Homesick” in late 2022, I was struck by how I felt so seen by an artist who, at that point, had just released a triumph of a third album, Stick Season. I hadn’t heard any of his other songs at the time and had no concept of the impact his music would have on my entire outlook in the following years. But it’s safe to say that even before I had explored his discography, I was hooked from the first time I heard the “Homesick” line, “I’m mean because I grew up in New England.”

Kahan hails from a small town in Vermont, an upbringing which inspires the essence of his folk-pop music and underlies the powerful, heartfelt themes that weave throughout his work. Having gone to school in Connecticut up until college and being raised in a very rural part of upstate New York, I was captivated by the way Kahan describes the experience of middle-of-nowhere life while also capturing the nuances of mental health struggles, loss, relationships, and family dynamics.

So, when my friend Audrey and I heard that Kahan was making his debut at Madison Square Garden, we immediately coordinated our ticket buying: I would get the presale code, dive into Ticketmaster’s waiting room as soon as possible, and grab the best pair of tickets I could find without spending an arm and a leg. And fortunately, this is exactly what I managed to do. Thus, on September 27th, 2023, we had a city trip on our hands, and built an entire visit to my hometown around Noah Kahan’s concert on July 15th, 2024. We were dedicated. And excited.

Nearly a year later…

As we made our way south alongside the Hudson, taking the Amtrak down to Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station, I watched my friend Audrey dab makeup on her face. She took breaks between brushing on powder to explain to the mother sitting across from her how she manages to apply concealer so flawlessly on a moving train. When I wasn’t shuffling songs on my phone or eavesdropping Audrey and our friend Jose’s conversations with the strangers across the way, I looked to my boyfriend, Max, as he intently dueled me in GamePigeon billiards to pass the time.

The day in the city before the concert can be summarized in three words: sweaty, achy, and artistic. I can be a pessimist when it comes to humid, incessant heat, and being surrounded by people and walking up the crowded blocks of Fifth Ave didn’t help. However, we stopped into the MoMA for a few hours, relishing the air conditioning and weaving through installations of rainbow stuffed animal clouds and onlookers huddled in eager half circles around The Starry Night and The Persistence of Memory. 

Once we wallowed for the appropriate amount of time in our hotel room and Audrey and I were ready for the show, we ventured out to get pictures in front of the venue, right as the sun turned orangey-gold in the sky and Noah Kahan’s face flashed across the Garden’s massive screen. We then treated ourselves to Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, a special treat for an upstate New Yorker like me. Then, finally, it was showtime.

Kahan takes the stage

James Bay was the opener for the show, a performance we regretfully missed while in line for t-shirts, water (sans bottle caps), and a quick bathroom trip. We got to our seats in the lower bowl just as Bay was finishing up around 8:40pm, and then waited for another 35 or so minutes until Kahan took the stage close to 9:20pm.

Kahan opened with “Dial Drunk,” which immediately had Audrey and I screaming along, out of our seats and dancing from the second the music started. I would quickly realize throughout the show’s duration that I admittedly only knew the lyrics to about half of the songs, but “Dial Drunk” I knew by heart. This helped set the tone for the rest of the show as one full of heartfelt energy, punctuated by slower, more reflective tearjerker moments. 

It’s worth noting that “Dial Drunk” was one of many new additions Kahan released in one of two expanded versions of his 2022 album. Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) came out in 2023. It was easy to immediately become obsessed with many of these later tracks, and two of them happen to be my favorite Noah Kahan songs.

After this opening song, he delved into “New Perspective,” a staple off of the original Stick Season release. Miraculously, the song balances the subject matter of change—changing communities and changing people, too—while maintaining an upbeat folk melody, and it’s easy to dance along. He sings, “You and all of your new perspective now / Wish I could shut it in a closet / And drag you back down,” with such a light air that the true, difficult meaning of the song is constantly enmeshed in a much more cheerful sound. To me, this juxtaposition makes Kahan’s music so special and so easy to connect with.

During his next song, “Everywhere, Everything,” we realized each seat was accompanied by a glowing bracelet, which we all wore and waved in the air as the bands emanated colors to the beat of the song. The audience became an illuminated sea of glimmering stars. 

The moving performance continues

This moment was followed by a hit off his first album, Busyhead, from 2019, “False Confidence.” Here, we started to descend into more poignant territory. Indeed, as Audrey and I jumped to and fro and Kahan sang, “All that’s left of myself, holes in my false confidence,” we noticed a girl in the row in front of us singing along with tears streaming down her face. Again, the music itself was bright, but the subject matter, the concept of not feeling fully as if you believe in yourself, clearly hit home.

Next, Kahan sang “Forever,” a tune which launched with the release of the final expanded edition of his third album, Stick Season (Forever). This version included not only all of the songs from Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), but also exclusive duet versions of his songs featuring Post Malone, Lizzy McAlpine, Kacey Musgraves, Hozier, Gracie Abrams, Sam Fender, Brandi Carlile, and Gregory Alan Isakov.

Slowing things down for a three-song acoustic set, the vivid, glowing mountains of Kahan’s stage design were eclipsed by three large frames, exhibiting large versions of pictures from his childhood home. As he sat centerstage, Kahan played an unreleased song, “Pain Is Cold Water,” as well as two devastating classics from earlier in his discography, “Maine” and “Godlight.” I was less familiar with the latter two than I’d like to admit, but since that show I have been strongly attached to both—hearing the profoundly honest lyrics live truly opened my eyes to the power of his first two albums.

So began the waterworks

I had been bracing myself for it since the start of the show: “Paul Revere.” One of my three favorite Noah Kahan songs, I knew it would tug at my heartstrings immediately. I connected with the song from the first listen, from my first understanding of the concept that there is nothing harder than figuring out when and how to leave your home. As he sang the agonizingly beautiful bridge, belting, “If I could leave, I would’ve already left,” I couldn’t help but sob, holding up my phone to ensure I captured it all for a time when my vision wasn’t so blurred from crying.

From here, me and Audrey’s faces remained raw from wiping away a constant stream of tears. We recovered in momentary solace during “All My Love,” a more joyful tune that assures, “It’s all okay, there ain’t a drop of bad blood / It’s all my love, you got all my love.” This was quickly followed by “Your Needs, My Needs,” another quintessential Stick Season song, and another unreleased ballad, “Spoiled.” This latter number brought me and Audrey quickly to tears yet again, underscoring the idea of a father working hard to ensure a child will never have to worry about the simple things.

We undoubtedly continued crying with “You’re Gonna Go Far,” a song that, like “Paul Revere,” made us both weep as it touches on those themes of growing up, leaving home, and feeling guilty about doing so even when your family will always be there, believing in you. At Kahan’s show, it’s truly hard not to let the tears flow, as it’s so easy to connect the stories of his music to your own life, your own fears, your own circumstances. This, to me, makes his music not only timeless, but universal, even when he’s speaking to his specific New England upbringing and life experiences.

The song that first introduced me to Kahan, “Homesick,” was up next, and we wiped away our eyes to begin screaming along to the lyrics properly, this time, happily. Audrey panned to me with her phone, recording me as I yelled out, “I would leave if only I could find a reason / I’m mean because I grew up in New England,” gesturing to my “Homesick”-themed tank top. 

Forgive his Northern Attitude

To our excitement, Kahan moved to the B stage, which was closer to where we were in the lower bowl, for two slow, poignant tunes. “Growing Sideways,” which touches on sincere themes of mental health, and the unreleased “Way Up High,” dedicated to his mother in the crowd that night, both caused us to sway in place, looking on intently.

Returning to the main stage, the energy picked back up with “She Calls Me Back,” which capitalized on a joyful folk melody as the crowd collectively chanted, “I still dial 822-993-167 / Oh, there was Heaven in your eyes.”

The tears resumed with “Carlo’s Song,” dedicated to Kahan’s friend who passed away. It was truly heart wrenching, but also remarkable, watching Kahan sing about his friend and celebrate his life so gracefully as he looked up to the sky. He remembered and honored Carlo in such a moving way, in such a huge venue, that it was hard not to cry, both out of sadness and awe.

Wrapping up the main set, Kahan sang “Orange Juice” and “Northern Attitude,” the latter prompting snowflakes to fall from the ceiling as Kahan insisted, “Forgive my northern attitude / Oh, I was raised out in the cold.”

For the encore, after a quick interlude, Kahan belted out an extended version of “The View Between Villages,” then brought out opener James Bay for an upbeat and dance-y conclusion to the show with the title track of his third album, “Stick Season.”

Whether you know one song or his entire discography, or anything in between, Noah Kahan will make you feel right at home at his show. You’ll walk away with a newfound appreciation of his music and an inspiration to discover, or rediscover, his music for long after seeing him live. You can watch him perform in a venue as massive as Madison Square Garden, and his charismatic quips and songs directly from his heart and soul will make you feel recognized in a way wholly unparalleled. With “the season of the sticks” on the horizon, listen to Kahan. You won’t regret it.

To listen to the show’s setlist, you can find our playlist here.