Noah Kahan Ascending

The sure marker of an artist on the move is when the collaborations begin with those already filling arenas. Kahan just released a new version of his song Dial Drunk performed with Post Malone, in the process acquiring for himself the nickname “Folk Malone.”

Nothing builds attention faster than bringing an “A” list artist’s followers into your fan base.

Dial Drunk is on Kahan’s new deluxe version of his album Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever”) which released in late June of this year and immediately got attention. It reached #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and #1 on several of Billboard’s genre album charts including Top Alternative, Top Rock & Folk, and Americana/Folk.

This deluxe version contains six new songs plus an extended version of a song from the initial release. The idea behind the deluxe version was to provide fans with a cohesive version of the Stick Season album so they could experience continuity of the songs. Stick Season is the time before Winter, when the leaves fall off the trees. This collection of songs is about letting go and accepting yourself.

In part because of Stick Season’s success, and in part because the word has gotten out, Kahan is selling out his current tour. He is playing big name theaters like Radio City Music hall in New York, and to crowds up to the 15,000 people who came to the show at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. At last count he sold over 340,000 tickets which is impressive.

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Kahan is interesting. He’s known as a roots music singer-songwriter who infuses a touch of pop elements into his work. This combined with his youth and ability to connect with a crowd is building deep connection with his audience. They turn out in mass at his concerts and festival appearances. And, once there, this audience knows all the lyrics and sings along as he and his band perform.

I recently spoke with Kahan who is both articulate and aware. The conversation was in a backstage holding room in true road warrior fashion. You never know what that talk will be like. In Kahan’s case you could see elements of songwriting in the ways he articulated his thoughts. This is in great part because his mother is an English teacher and an author. She helped inspire in Kahan the love of reading which is the source of literacy and to guide him in how to be creative. Almost no one learns to write organically, fluency in language follows from reading broadly and writing frequently.

The breakthrough moment for Kahan came early, toward the end of 2017 when he released Hurt Somebody, which he wrote with Julia Michaels. That song propelled his career forward, and the momentum remained intact post pandemic when live music performance returned.

Kahan been touring for six years, with the audience building. That’s taking him to and his four piece band everywhere from an apple orchard and to festivals and theaters. This band performs an acoustic like sound at electric full blast. Their style runs from folk pop to folk rock balancing between the genres.

Before Covid, Kahan was trying to stay in a certain lane or genre. He felt trapped. Covid released him and freed him to write what he felt. He went deeper into the folkie space and unlocked new ideas and instruments. His path now allows more freedom to have fun and experiment.

Kahan harbors no regret about what happened in the past. That’s who he was at the time, and the work from that period still resonates with people for which he is glad. He knows it is pointless to predict the future or to expect any work to represent you forever. Change lurks behind each new day.

For Kahan, the turning point may have been when he read Steinbeck’s East of Eden during his teenage years. That book changed his thinking. He moved away from looking for constant motion in prose, and learned to appreciate the details and nuances as he read Steinbeck’s descriptions of the environment and the period. Details are the key elements of storytelling. That lesson learned, Kahan now believes no lyric can be wasteful, they should all be important and meaningful.

Making the transition as an artist playing to big crowds can be transformative in ways both good and bad. Kahan is appreciative of his growing audience, and even in the bigger rooms can hear the individual lyrics being sung back to him by individual members of the audience. His plan is to continue the work, continue to create and to follow his North Star which is his own happiness and ability to connect both with his fan base and himself.