Noah Kahan on ‘The Great Divide,’ Playing for Fans, Upcoming Tour
Noah Kahan at a Mastercard fan listening event in Nashville.
Courtesy of Mastercard
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In the years since Stick Season, Noah Kahan has been extremely aware of his evolution as the New England singer-songwriter has grown from hometown folk hero to bonafide stadium act.
“I don’t want to be stuck in one way,” Kahan tells The Hollywood Reporter on a Zoom from the Nashville-based Gold Pacific Studios, where he recorded his upcoming album, The Great Divide. “It was these fears that just rattled around in my head that made it so hard for me to write it all that eventually I just had to let him go. I have always evolved musically in my own way. I think a lot of times I haven’t had the confidence to put it into action.”
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Shortly after this conversation, he’d join his producer, Gabe Simon, in meeting fans at an event he hosted with Mastercard, where attendees had a chance to listen to Kahan’s new album early and take part in a Q&A with the singer and producer. Kahan also played the crowd a few songs, including the pre-release singles “The Great Divide” and “Porchlight.”
Set to release in April, The Great Divide marks a new phase in Kahan’s career. The album’s highly anticipated, particularly by the dedicated fanbase he’s garnered throughout the years. He has a Netflix documentary on the way, Noah Kahan: Out of Body, which premiered at SXSW. In June, he’ll set out on a sold-out tour, heading to arenas and stadiums around the country, including four hometown nights at Fenway Park in Boston. Fans at Friday’s Mastercard event were gifted two tickets to the tour.
Below, Kahan speaks with THR about The Great Divide, sharing the album with fans and what to expect on tour.
Some fans are going to hear your new album tonight. How does it make you feel knowing people are going to start perceiving the album and forming opinions about it?
That’s a great way to put it. Perceiving is the right word. My perception of the album, of music I make, is always so different from the fans. I have my own stories and my own relationships with the songs, and part of me is nervous to let go of that and to let it out into the world, and into the world of opinion and perception. But I’m really excited because I’m proud of it. I’m proud of what I made, and my fans have always been really attuned to what I’ve tried to say.
They’re really articulate and intelligent and discerning music listeners, so I’m very excited for them to get a chance to be here with me tonight and really get asked the questions about the songs. To experience it in this intimate setting is really unusual and really coo, so I’m grateful to Mastercard for allowing this to happen. I’ve never been able to have a listening session like this that’s curated so much for the fans and so about the kind of connection that we have.
Noah Kahan performs at Mastercard fan listening event.
Courtesy of Mastercard
The kind of music you make is suited for these intimate settings, but you are obviously a stadium act these days. How do you feel about not getting the opportunity for these smaller moments as much anymore? Is that something you mourn the loss of sometimes, or does it just feel special when it happens?
I think a little bit of both. I think I do mourn the loss of that because when you’re in those smaller rooms, you just want to get to the bigger rooms. You want to play for the most people possible. You really lose sight of what makes those shows so special, the intimacy and the connection and being able to see every single face and to feel like you’re in a room with friends. Playing huge shows is an unbelievable privilege. As someone that spent eight years playing for people eating dinner that wanted me to be anywhere but next to them, I completely understand and respect the opportunity I’ve been given. But you’re right, I do think that this music in particular is really meant for intimacy.
Trying to deliver that on a large level has been a really fun process, but the best way to do it is by just making it intimate and playing for a little bit less people, playing some things acoustic. They’ve almost got it looking like a coffee shop in here, which is how I grew up playing music. It’s really, really fine-tun