Written by Alex Armbruster<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s almost Stick Season, and I can\u2019t stop crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It all started at the Iron Blossom Music Festival in my hometown, Richmond, Virginia. Noah Kahan stepped out onto the stage, looking like he\u2019d been plucked straight from the crowd of granola 20-somethings. The first chord to \u201cAll My Love\u201d strummed from his guitar, and the crowd erupted with toe-stomping energy. People clapped and screamed and sang along with every word. This carried on till about halfway through the show, when everything fell silent. A single spotlight lit Kahan as his bandmates left the stage, and he performed \u201cCall Your Mom.\u201d I\u2019m not a sappy person, and I loathe crying in front of other people. Though, as Noah Kahan poured his heart out alone, I found myself breaking down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I\u2019m being honest, I had no idea who Noah Kahan was until his latest album, \u201cStick Season.\u201d I remember hearing \u201cNorthern Attitude\u201d on Tik Tok and wondering where the tune came from. It was only after buying my tickets to Iron Blossom, that I realized Kahan would be headlining and began my deep dive into his discography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I first listened to \u201cStick Season,\u201d something immediately clicked for me. There\u2019s a deeply personal quality to Kahan\u2019s lyrics. His words are uninhibited, laying all his scars, regrets, and desires out for his listeners. \u201cGrab a past box of photos, I rip myself open<\/em>,\u201d sings Kahan in \u201cStill,\u201d a track lamenting a failed relationship. He puts care into every lyric, crafting a hyper-specific narrative that grounds listeners in his experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kahan\u2019s authentic sound matches the message behind his lyrics. His blend of acoustic melodies with fast-paced pop-rock elements puts a modern spin on folk that draws you in. A youthful irreverence threads through \u201cStick Season,\u201d highlighting an emotional state so singular to coming-of-age that it becomes universal. Kahan pushes that feeling, confronting the bitterness and embarrassment associated with growing up in a smalltown and how one can both resent and yearn for the place they come from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grief and loss take many forms in \u201cStick Season,\u201d where Kahan expresses how loss, whether it be the loss of a relationship or a loved one, can cling to you and drag you down a path you never expected. Mental health has been a focus of Kahan\u2019s well before \u201cStick Season.\u201d In his 2018 EP, \u201cHurt Somebody,\u201d Kahan describes feeling trapped by his fear of moving forward. Later, in his \u201cCape Elizabeth\u201d EP, he stews over the future, his love life, and the inevitability of loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kahan\u2019s raw depiction of mental health and depression hits home especially in our post-COVID, media-driven society, where disconnection and trauma still linger. To combat the growing mental health crisis, Kahan transformed his own experiences into The Busyhead Project, an initiative to support mental health care and accessibility. Since its foundation in May, Busyhead has raised over 2 million dollars from \u201cStick Season\u201d Tour tickets and donations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kahan\u2019s success is on an exponential incline. After an overwhelming response from fans, Kahan extended his \u201cStick Season\u201d tour with additional dates in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Since releasing his extended album \u201cWe\u2019ll All Be Here Forever\u201d in June, Kahan has collaborated with musicians Post Malone, Lizzy McAlpine, and Kacey Musgraves. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see future collaborations between Kahan and artists like Hozier, Boygenius, and Olivia Rodrigo. Kahan and Hozier have had two viral performances together this year, one of which I had the chance to see at Iron Blossom. Kahan has also shown appreciation for indie supergroup Boygenius and popstar Olivia Rodrigo, who covered Kahan\u2019s song \u201cStick Season\u201d for BBC\u2019s Live Lounge earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artists like Noah Kahan are hard to come by and a privilege to witness. It\u2019s a truly special experience finding music that makes you feel seen, and Kahan\u2019s art accomplishes just that. Good timing and social media may have aided in Noah Kahan\u2019s success, but it\u2019s his heart that will keep fans like me listening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by Alex Armbruster It\u2019s almost Stick Season, and I can\u2019t stop crying. It all started at the Iron Blossom Music Festival in my hometown, Richmond, Virginia. Noah Kahan stepped out onto the stage, looking like he\u2019d been plucked straight from the crowd of granola 20-somethings. The first chord to \u201cAll My Love\u201d strummed from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":7386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265,530,32],"tags":[19,1344,477,60,576,104,129],"yoast_head":"\n