From the moment Noah Kahan stepped on stage at T-Mobile Park in Seattle for the final shows of The Great Divide Tour, the stadium felt just like a living room.
Kahan has skyrocketed from playing 2,000 cap rooms for the beginning of his Stick Season Tour in 2023 to now playing to crowds 20 times that size as he promotes his latest album, The Great Divide. He even recently broke records playing four consecutive sold out shows at Fenway Park in Boston for over 150k total attendees. That is a monumental climb in a very short period, and while I’m thrilled whenever I see this happen for my favorite artists, I can’t help but be nervous that the shows will lose a bit of the intimacy and magic I fell in love with.
Photo by The Knockturnal
This was absolutely not the case for Kahan. With each new album, his lyrics and storytelling only get more personal, more detailed, and more soul-crushing in the best possible way. What that translates to in the live show experience is every single fan being on the same emotional wavelength in a way that makes even the biggest rooms feel small. He’s an artist that fans genuinely want to go out of their way for, whether traveling in for shows, making meticulous handcrafted outfits reflecting the album, or even camping out in lines for hours upon hours to obtain exclusive merch. And his appreciation for all of that effort is reflected back in everything that he does.
Kahan’s current catalogue is at the perfect sweet spot right now where he can play just about both of his albums in full, with a few rotating surprise songs to keep fans on their toes. I also give him major props for playing for over two hours with no outfit changes and very few set changes providing a break. Rotating between three different stages, there was never a dull moment in the 26 song set, especially when “She Calls Me Back” featured a video tribute from Cooper Kupp and Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks and a duet performance with opening act Gigi Perez.
Lyrically, The Great Divide is true poetry from beginning to end and is easily what I would call a no skips album. The live performances of “Doors”, “Staying Still”, and “Downfall” were particular standouts for me. But I have to say, even after seeing him six times across the Stick Season Tour, the live energy of that album is still absolutely unmatched. I still get full body chills every time I hear the intro to “Northern Attitude,” and there aren’t even sufficient words to describe how I feel every time I see him play “The View Between Villages”.
Photo by The Knockturnal
During night two, Kahan teased on stage that he will be announcing another tour for next summer. It can’t come soon enough for me, and I’m very glad to know that we haven’t truly seen “the last of the bugs” just yet.
