Noah Kahan performs with his band members at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre in Greenwood Village, Colorado on June 26, 2024. Credit: Zachary Spindler-Krage/The Denver Post via TNS
Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan has finally fed his fans, albeit with some leftovers — but tasty leftovers nonetheless.
Friday, Kahan released “Live from Fenway Park” — a live album recorded July 18-19 during the musician’s two sold-out Boston, Massachusetts shows and a part of his recent “We’ll All Be Here Forever” tour. But the “Stick Season” craze began long before this release.
Kahan first rose to stardom following the release of his third album’s title track, “Stick Season,” which was released Oct. 14, 2022 and garnered traction via social media platforms, namely TikTok.
Eight months later, on June 9, 2023, “Stick Season: We’ll All Be Here Forever” was released, followed by “Stick Season (Forever)” Feb. 9 of this year, both of which served as extensions of Kahan’s “Stick Season” movement.
Since his initial rise to stardom, Kahan has been on two tours for the original album and its surrounding releases, both with U.S. and European legs. Admittedly, producing a new album is a daunting task while actively performing for sold-out venues around the world, but fans still eagerly anticipated something fresh from his kitchen.
The live album consists of 18 tracks from Kahan’s 23-track setlist, meaning a handful of fan favorites — including “Godlight,” “Call Your Mom,” “If We Were Vampires,” “False Confidence” and “Young Blood” — were cut.
The album opens with “Dial Drunk,” another of Kahan’s songs that went viral on TikTok when it was released in 2022. While the lyrics have a dark undertone — “Honey, it rang and rang, even the cops thought you were wrong for hangin’ up” — it’s paired with an addictive beat and guitar backing, making it hard not to be excited as Kahan sings about his ex-girlfriend leaving him in the dust.
Kahan made a point to include his quips with fans, introduction speeches and audience applause in the album’s final cut, and although it is a common practice on live albums, it creates a very raw experience for listeners.
Kahan also brought out several special guests while at Fenway Park, one of whom was rising pop star Gracie Abrams, a prior collaborator of Kahan’s on the studio recording of his song “Everywhere, Everything” from the 2024 “Stick Season(Forever)” deluxe album.
The true allure of this album is the fact that Kahan included one of his unreleased songs, “Pain Is Cold Water,” which he had played to fans at Fenway.
Kahan has always been known for his gut-wrenching lyrics, and the newest addition to his discography is no exception. “I’m the tall glass of water you lose in your kitchen, I’m casually cruel like a senior prediction,” Kahan sings.
As if the first verse wasn’t melancholic enough, the second one goes straight for the heart; “And if love was contagious, I might be immune to it. Pain’s like cold water, your brain just gets used to it” is a lyric that may likely force listeners to hit pause and process for a moment.
The cherry on top came when Kahan confirmed in an Aug. 26 post on X that he has more plans for the song, alluding to the possibility of including a more developed version of the track on an upcoming album.
After recovering from “Pain Is Cold Water” and a few following tracks, Kahan’s “Orange Juice” — a song about two of his friends from back home making amends after a traumatic event — provided another gut punch.
As Kahan gets choked up, playing the song in front of Fenway Park’s sold-out audience and letting the crowd sing the lyrics for him, it is enough to bring one to tears.
Though most of the setlist was composed of songs from “Stick Season,” fans did get some older tracks too. “Maine,” a track from Kahan’s 2020 EP “Cape Elizabeth,” and “Mess,” from Kahan’s 2019 album “Busyhead,” were among the tracks included.
As Kahan sings “If only, baby there were cameras in the traffic lights. They’d make me a star, they’d make me a star,” it plucked at the heartstrings of fans who dream of making it out of their small towns and establishing a name for themselves in the public sphere.
Contrary to much of the live show, “Mess” provided a much-needed uplift following Kahan’s hour-and-a-half-long soul evisceration.
As always, Kahan closed the show with the song that started the Kahan craze, “Stick Season” — another case of dark lyrics with a delicious musical element. The lyric “I’ll dream each night of some version of you, that I might not have, but did not lose” hits especially hard for those who have been through a painful breakup or have watched a past lover from afar.
What made this version of “Stick Season” unique and arguably better than the studio recording and its sequential follow-up albums was Kahan bringing his parents, siblings and current girlfriend on stage, even letting them sing the chorus, “And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks. And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed.”
As if having his family on stage wasn’t emotional enough, having them sing the song about their hometown adds another layer of significance. For those who weren’t crying before, one can only assume the tears were flowing after the heart-felt performance.
While fans continue to wait on the edge of their seats for true new music from Kahan, this is sure to hold them over in the meantime. Kahan’s devastating lyrics, perfectly matched instrumentals and genuine spirit truly shine through with this recording and form a live album that is enjoyable to listen to.
Rating: 4/5
