As the temperature finally cools down, it means that the best time of the year is coming: fall in New England. For the past two years now, Noah Kahan has provided the perfect soundtrack to my walks to class in the brisk fall weather, or my drives with the windows down when I’m looking at all the leaves. I love listening to his music all times of the year, but there is nothing like listening to a true New Englander sing about the unique experience of living in New England. To me, his songwriting is unmatched, and he writes about the deepest and most sensitive of topics in such a poetic way that all his listeners feel so deeply.
When I heard that he was going on tour to perform songs from Stick Season, and some of his old hits, I knew I wanted to go. One of my suite-mates (shoutout Beth) has been a fan of him for years, and entered the Ticketmaster lottery, which we all know is always a disaster. Lucky enough for us, we were able to get tickets for September 9 at Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA.
The day finally came and six of my friends got ready in our outfits and braved the traffic. It was worth it in every way. Ruston Kelly was the opener, and he was much better than most openers I have seen at concerts. While I didn’t know most of the songs, he made the genius decision to cover “All Too Well,” which was very well received by the Xfinity crowd. Everyone passionately sang along, as if they were at the Eras tour (I really wish I was). Once he was done, we all waited for the lights to go back down and the first few notes of the first song to begin.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the lights dimmed, and the beginning notes of “Northern Attitude” began playing and I immediately got chills as everyone sang along about “being raised out in the cold”. He followed that up with “She Calls Me Back” and “New Perspective” which were all amazing to listen to live. Noah Kahan even said that he had a cold as he sipped on his cup of hot tea throughout the concert. You definitely could not tell as he sounded even better than his original recordings.
After “Everywhere, Everything,” he surprised the crowd with playing “Maine,” which everyone went crazy for. Next, was “Growing Sideways,” one of my favorite songs. He played it acoustically, which made it hit even harder with the meaning of the song. He also played “Paul Revere” for the Boston crowd which is not usually part of the setlist. “All my Love” followed this up, which usually isn’t one of my favorite songs, but I absolutely loved seeing this one live. Two of his older songs, “False Confidence” and “Carlo’s Song” preceded my favorite Noah Kahan song, “You’re Gonna Go Far.” Being able to scream this song with so many of my friends is something I will never forget. “Orange Juice” followed that up, which is my second favorite Noah Kahan song, so this was definitely my favorite part of the concert. To finish the main part of the concert, he sang “Dial Drunk” which of course was a crowd favorite.
To my surprise, a lot of people started getting up to leave even though it was obvious he was going to come back on for an encore. To please the Boston crowd once again, he sang “Mess”, which mentions taking 89 to Boston which was screamed by every person in the venue it seemed like. To finish out the concert he sang his two biggest hits, “Stick Season” and “Homesick.” Hearing these live was everything I could’ve wanted and more. This concert was one of the best I have ever been to, and was the perfect way to kick off fall in New England.