By Molly McCoy
Tuesday, July 9th brought Noah Kahan and his “We’ll All Be Here Forever” tour to the Utah First Credit Union in Salt Lake City. Fans eagerly gathered at the venue, braving the heat for what promised to be a perfect evening.
Jensen McRae was the opener for tonight’s show and her voice was incredible. The traffic getting into the venue set me back a little bit, so I only heard a song or two from my actual seat, but even as I was walking into the venue, I was impressed with how well her voice carried and how deep it was. While I had not listened to her before, she is an artist I will listen to more from now on. For her final song “Massachusetts” she brought out Noah to sing a duet with her. The song has been released already but I am desperately hoping for a collaboration between the two of them as their voices complemented each other so nicely.
As we waited in between the sets I looked around at the venue as it had filled up quite a bit since I had arrived there. I took this opportunity to walk around a little, take some pictures with my pocket-sized point, shoot camera, and look at the merch. The last time I saw Noah and his band he played at a local venue that had a max capacity of 1,200 this time. However, the venue was packed with an astounding 21,000 people.
Over the last year and a half or so, Noah Kahan’s popularity has grown immensely. Noah’s popularity and exposure grew through promoting his “Stick Season” album on TikTok. While he may have achieved stardom through TikTok it is a well-deserved and earned title. With lyrics that tell stories of struggling with mental health, addiction and loss and a mental health initiative created by Noah and his team called “The Busyhead Project” which helps to promote resources, discussion, and care for those struggling with mental health issues. It is clear that Noah cares about his fans and those struggling.
I found my way back to my seat as it got closer to the time Noah would take the stage. The crowd erupted as the band came out and started playing. At first, they were just playing randomly before Noah joined them on stage and they began with the familiar notes of the platinum winning song “Dial Drunk.” The sound of fans singing along quickly fell into sync with the singing on stage and the night was off.
While this review will cover a lot of what was played and the overall flow of the show, I would be amiss about not pointing out how incredible his band is. On guitar he has Noah Levine, who helped write “Dial Drunk” and has incredible guitar solos throughout the show where he highlights his skill. Next is Dylan Jones, he plays a variety of instruments on stage and has fun with each one. Nina, who is new to the band, plays the violin and the relationship between all three is fun to watch throughout as they all joke and mess around on stage together. Alex and Marcos covered the rhythm section, and both were so talented
and flowing with skill. The whole band was so cohesive and put together, it is clear to the audience how much they enjoy playing together.
My favorite part of the evening was the small acoustic portion. Noah created a living room set up on stage of his mom’s house, joking that they could not bring all the generational trauma as it would not fit on stage. As the crew set up the stage Noah took this time to read signs in the crowd and take a selfie for a fan on stage. Once the stage was set up Noah and some of his band members preformed some new and old songs in an acoustic format.
While in this setting they played an Unreleased song called “Pain is Like Cold Water” to which they seamlessly transitioned into “Maine” from his “Cape Elizabeth” EP. His final song in this setting was my all-time favorite of his “Godlight” from his “I Was I Am” album. The emotion that came through during this performance was incredible, against the setting sun it was something that soon will not be forgotten.
Following the acoustic portion the band wasted no time moving along the set list. The entire night I was impressed with the fact that though this setlist was 20 songs long and the concert was quick in its pace, it never felt like they were trying to rush through any of the songs or the show itself. Noah played another unreleased song called “The Great Divide” I had been hearing snippets of this song on social media over the last few weeks and I was not alone in that. As he got to the chorus the crowd would join in to sing despite the song not being out yet.
The band continued to play popular hits such as “Paul Revere,” “Your Needs My Needs” and “Homesick” before Noah surprised the crowd by appearing in the middle of the audience on a smaller stage with just his guitar. The crowd encompassed him with their phones flashlights as he sang beautiful renditions of “Growing Sideways” and “Strawberry Wine.” He told the crowd while on that stage that he loved touring because he loved being around fans and moved to this stage to be a little closer to everyone.
As he returned to the main stage, I felt a little twinge of sadness as I realized the show I had been anticipating for months was close to ending. Noah ended his show with the ever-popular “Northern Attitude” with snowlike white bubbles falling from the lighting system at the amphitheater. After that song he left for a bit while the crowd cheered for him to come back out. At last, he finally did before singing the extended version of “The View Between Villages” and the ever-popular “Stick Season” with leaf-shaped confetti falling into the crowd.
With five more shows on this run fans are sad to see the end of the stick season era but excited for what is to come. While his whole tour has been sold out from the day it went
on sale, there is no need to worry as fans can get tickets to live stream his final two shows at Fenway Park. A portion of the ticket sales will go towards “The Busyhead Project” to help those who are struggling. Take my advice and get tickets now as this show is unmissable. And as far as Utah fans go, we will all be waiting here forever until Noah makes his return the next time he tours.
Photos taken by author from seat with non DSLR camera
