When Noah Kahan teased the fact that he was going to continue touring into 2027, I was ecstatic. I was even happier when I found out that one of his summer 2027 stops was our very own Buffalo, New York. I’ve liked Noah Kahan since everyone else discovered him through “Stick Season” in 2023. I didn’t stop listening there, though. I listened to the rest of the album that “Stick Season” got its namesake from, and even went back to his older albums, Busyhead and I Was / I Am.
Noah remained a steady presence in my playlist throughout the years, but when he released “The Great Divide,” his latest studio album, he became someone I would confidently call one of my favorite artists ever, not just someone I enjoy listening to. Tracks like “Willing and Able,” “All Them Horses,” “Orbiter,” “Dan,” and “23” resonated with me in ways other music never had. This album was, no joke, the entire soundtrack of my summer. I played it in my room, begged my friends to play it on aux in their cars, and sang it in the shower. I was listening to it nonstop.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t score tickets to the first leg of this album’s tour. I didn’t have that much extra spending money at the time, and all the shows were too far away to make going feasible. This is why I was so excited when he announced he was going to Highmark Stadium in Buffalo. When I’m home, Buffalo is just over an hour away from me, which was obviously a very doable trip. This just left getting tickets, which evidently was easier said than done.
I did as much as I could, though, and signed up for the presale on Tuesday, November 10. The morning of, I was hopeful, followed all the right steps, and joined the Ticketmaster waiting room as soon as it opened. When the sale started, I held my breath, waiting for the queue to tell me what number in line I was. When the number on my screen read “13,000,” my heart sank.
I waited patiently for my turn to look at tickets, but unfortunately, by the time I got in, saying there were very few options would somehow be an understatement. The only tickets left were VIP packages way out of my price range and tickets in the 400-level section for over $200 each, which I just flat-out refused to pay. I know it’s the Noah Kahan, but $200 for quite literally the farthest seat possible? Absolutely not.
As sad as I was, I held on to a tiny piece of hope because I still had a chance with the general sale two days later, on the 12th. Just as I had before, I set my alarm to make sure I was up and ready for the Ticketmaster war, joined the waiting room, and prayed.
When the waiting room screen finally read “Less than 1 minute,” I held my breath yet again. Words cannot describe the devastation I felt when the screen told me I was 84,600th in line. I know this sounds dramatic, but I really, really wanted to see him live, and this could be my only chance to see him within the next few years. I’d even convinced my best friend Evie (or my “Dan”) to go to the concert with me so we could experience it together.
I knew when I read that number, though, that there was absolutely zero chance. Sure enough, tickets sold out long before it would have been my turn to buy them.
I’ve been regretting not buying the ridiculously overpriced 400-level tickets, though, because what if that was my only chance? As hard as I tried, I came out of the Ticketmaster war empty-handed. Twice.
As I’m writing this, I’m still hoping and praying he’ll add a second Buffalo show. I’m not sure the odds are very high, considering he’s already added a ton of other shows within the last few days, and there have been no mentions of a second Highmark show.
So, I guess listening to “Deny Deny Deny” (much like Ticketmaster denied, denied, denied me), “Call Your Mom,” and “Orange Juice” in my headphones will have to suffice for now. At the very least, if I can’t manage to procure tickets for Evie and me over the next few months, we will still be at the stadium to tailgate, in true Buffalo fashion.
All of this to say, if you got tickets for a show, I’m so happy for you, but please, for my sake, do not tell me about them or how excited you are. It’s still a sore subject.