October 10, 2023 marks the 31st annual World Mental Health Day, intent on promoting accessibility of wellness resources as well as awareness in support of those struggling. Stick Season singer-songwriter, Noah Kahan, doubles as the founder of The Busyhead Project, which is dedicated to raising funds to support active mental health organizations. Through both his music and social media platforms, Kahan openly talks about his mental health journey and his individual struggles with anxiety and depression. “As I began to make music I made an effort to write lyrics about how I was feeling, in the hopes that maybe someone out there would feel less alone when they listened to it,” Kahan stated when launching The Busyhead Project in May of 2023. The support for his music in recent months has been steadily increasing as hundreds of comments and posts flood the internet talking about how deeply they were moved by his songs. More than just begin great additions to your autumn playlist, Kahan’s music has deeply resonated with listeners.
Since the start of this campaign, The Busyhead Project has raised over $1.9 Million dollars through campaigns and donations and is set to donate $600,000 to various organizations including The Jed Foundation, Jack.org, Here Tomorrow, and Teen Line. Several of the foundations that Kahan has chosen to feature are relatively smaller in size compared to larger mental health organizations that are already backed by significant monetary support and social reach. Though larger groups can be incredibly helpful for spreading awareness and encouraging change, smaller foundations have the ability to be specific and focused with their aid if they acquire the necessary resources, and the funds from The Busyhead Project are intended to do just that.
The purpose of his music has evidently been achieved as comment after comment on the page discusses their own mental health issues and that Noah Kahan’s music saved them, the same way he himself had been saved by music growing up. The vulnerability and openness with which Kahan approaches both his songwriting and mental health initiatives work to undermine the stigma that has acted as a social epidemic between generations. The name of the foundation itself is pulled from the name of Kahan’s debut studio album as well as song, Busyhead. The album is filled with truly meaningful, beautiful songs featuring a wide spectrum of mental health issues from various perspectives.
Focusing on the namesake of the program, the song Busyhead considers what it feels like to feel an overwhelming sense of anxiety and darkness. The song can be interpreted as speaking to a younger version of Kahan, or to the listener themselves. However you look at it, it is a tragically beautiful and encouraging piece that recognizes the all- consuming tragedy of negative mental health, reassuring the listener that they are not alone and they should “just keep breathing.” With a progressing career and three total studio albums as well as an EP, Noah Kahan has made a point to examine and dissect his own experiences with sincere vulnerability. Songs like A Troubled Mind, Call Your Mom, Carlo’s Song, and many others are all connected by the same interwoven theme: Noah Kahan’s soulful voice and the ever-growing fanbase that has taken these songs and held them so dear to their hearts.