Phish may be the long-time reigning champs of musical acts from Vermont, but Noah Kahan is living proof that even the Granite State is big enough for more than one headliner. The 27-year-old from Strafford, VT has been on a rocket ride to superstardom since 2022. As he showed during his second of two sold-out June concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, Noah hasn’t let his newfound fame and fortune get to his head just yet.
Throughout his nearly two-hour set, he sprinkled in many a self-effacing joke and played around with the audience while running through his growing catalog of originals. Chief among those was “Stick Season”, which Noah used to close an encore that also included “The View Between Villages”. For the former song, Noah Kahan brought out rising pop star Reneé Rapp and guitarist Towa Bird as surprise guests to add extra zest to his smash hit.
Noah Kahan, Reneé Rapp, Towa Bird — “Stick Season” — 6/21/24
[Video: Kashia Wise]
Though celebrity cameos were missing from his guest-fueled tracks “Dial Drunk” and “Northern Attitude”—which feature Post Malone and Hozier, respectively—Noah brought plenty of his own personality to the party. He joked about being “dressed like a mattress topper,” and told the audience he wanted to “leave you a little worse off than you came.” He cracked about being “at least a 9 in Vermont” but only a 2 in L.A. and a 0 in Venice. He even dedicated songs to “children of divorce” and Zoloft. At one point, while his crew changed over the stage design, Noah vamped about signs in the crowd and dug into a bag of Starburst jelly beans that a fan in the pit offered up to him.
Jokes aside, Noah’s whole show made brilliant use of the expansive space that the Bowl and its iconic shell stage afford. For acoustic versions of “Come Over” and “Godlight”, he and his band performed in front of blown-up photos from his childhood meant to recreate his mother’s living room in Vermont.
“We didn’t have enough room on this stage for all the generational trauma,” Noah cracked.
Throughout the set, Noah and his band enjoyed the backing of screens shaped like Vermont’s mountainous landscape. At the forefront hung white twine that evoked winter icicles, especially when lit up with twinkle lights.
That all took a backseat during the second half of the set, when Noah, escorted by a squad of security guards, ventured halfway up the stands at the Bowl to perform “Growing Sideways”, “Pain is Cold Water”, and “Maine” with just his voice, his guitar, and the backing of what turned into a chorus of 17,000.
At every point, Noah bared his heart and soul on each song he and his band spun, from “False Confidence” and “Forever” to “Your Needs, My Needs”, “Call Your Mom”, and “Orange Juice”. Halfway through, he managed to stump (most) sing-along attendees by delivering an as-yet-unreleased track, “The Great Divide”.
All told, Noah did more than cement himself as the “next big thing” in the world of folk-pop. He combined personality and production with a unique voice and distinctly New England perspective to create a musical oeuvre that is at once reminiscent of and stands apart from influences like Mumford & Sons and Counting Crows.
But there is much more to Noah Kahan than just relatable songs sung with skill and passion. He is also using his tour to promote The Busyhead Project, a non-profit that promotes mental health awareness and provides mental healthcare for all those in need. Noah’s organization set up an Action Village at the Hollywood Bowl, where visitors could learn about local mental health organizations, contribute messages of support to a Community Wall, and register to vote with HeadCount. That same village will appear at venues throughout his tour.
If you haven’t yet had the chance to take in Noah’s show and The Busyhead Project Action Village, you can catch him on his We’ll All Be Here Forever tour in Colorado, Washington, California, Utah, and Wisconsin before he settles into pairs of sold-out shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and Boston’s Fenway Park—the last of which will be livestreamed. Visit his website for tickets and a full list of tour dates.
Check out a gallery of images from Noah Kahan at the Hollywood Bowl courtesy of photographer Randall Michelson along with some fan-shot videos.
Noah Kahan — “Dial Drunk” — 6/21/24
[Video: lenny labao]
Noah Kahan — “The Great Divide” — 6/21/24
[Video: I fly stuff]
Noah Kahan — “Growing Sideways” — 6/21/24
[Video: I fly stuff]
The post Noah Kahan Shares The Stage With Reneé Rapp For “Stick Season” At Hollywood Bowl [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
