Milwaukee - JUNE 24TH, 2023

Noah Kahan returned to Milwaukee for the second time in four months, following the recent release of We’ll All Be Here Forever, the deluxe version of his widely acclaimed album, Stick Season (2022).

The self-pronounced “Folk Malone” (aka Kahan) made his way to the US Cellular connection stage at Summerfest, where fans lined up eight hours before the show taking place at 10 pm that night and some lucky fans rolled dice to win pit access.

Kahan’s set list included favorite tracks from Stick Season like Orange Juice, Northern Attitude, and New Perspective, which he introduced by encouraging fans to “drag others down with you.” He included one song, False Confidence, from his 2019 album, Busyhead, and in succession, thanked everyone who has followed his career or supported him and reminisced on his very first tour stop in Milwaukee.

In between all the nostalgia, however, Kahan performed some of the songs released only three weeks ago, allowing fans to scream along to brand-new, heart-wrenching lyrics like “I’m naming the stars in the sky after you,” from Your Needs, My Needs or a personal favorite, “Say whatever you feel, be wherever you are,” from You’re Gonna Go Far.

In between runs around the stage, guitar in hand, Kahan takes time to introduce his insanely talented live band, who together make songs you cry alone in your bedroom to, screamable. Members include Alex Bachari on Bass, Marco Valles on Drums and Vocals, Noah Levine on Guitar, and Dylan Jones on pretty much everything, but rocking the hell out of Mandolin.

In his encore, Kahan came back on stage wearing a Milwaukee Brewers jersey, one he was previously spotted wearing after a show cancellation in Charleston, South Carolina. He started off his encore by performing the freshly released extended version of The View Between Villages and closed out the entire show with Stick Season, an outstanding ode to the song that got him to where he is.

The one hour and ten minutes or so that Kahan spent on stage were magical in the lightest of terms, crowds were louder than ever, shouting, crying, and letting out the complicated emotions Kahan’s lyrics elicit. For many the show was therapeutic, an outlet for hometown resentment for those that stayed, and guilt held by the ones who got out.

Kahan’s We’ll All Be Here Forever recently landed at spot number three on the Billboard charts while simultaneously having 18 out of 21 songs on the Alternative charts. In his success, Kahan never loses his humor, staying active on Twitter and Tik Tok, always humble, joking about jelly and his favorite gas stations, and endlessly thanking his fans for the opportunity they've given him.

With the release of the deluxe, Kahan said, “Let's go back to New England or the Midwest, or wherever we’re from and romanticize our hometowns, let’s shed our shame and guilt and our pain and return to ourselves for a little while. Let’s all be here forever.” And boy do we hope he comes back with us.

Make sure to see Noah Kahan on the rest of his tour and at Lollapalooza this year at Grant Park in Chicago, IL.