It’s hard to believe that almost four years ago, I was introduced to Noah Kahan for the first time. I was a freshman in college, and his third album, Stick Season, was released. I vividly remember one of my friends telling me to listen to him, and then a few weeks later, my roommate became obsessed, and I mean obsessed with the album, and I followed suit.
The album practically blew up overnight, earning Kahan recognition from many mainstream artists, resulting in collaborations with several big names, including Kacey Musgraves, Gracie Abrams, Post Malone, Lizzy McAlpine, and a Grammy nomination. Kahan is one of the few folk artists to blow up the mainstream music scene, and it is mostly in part due to how relatable his lyrics are (if you are someone with divorced parents, depression, and you function on medication, then this man’s music is definitely for you).
Kahan is also outspoken about mental health, and his nonprofit, The Busyhead Project, has raised six million dollars in support of raising awareness and reducing stigmas around the issue since its inception in 2023.
He recently had a documentary premiere at SXSW called Noah Kahan: Out of Body, which is now streaming on Netflix, detailing his life on the “We’ll All Be Here Forever” Tour as well as the beginnings of his creative processes going into making The Great Divide.
He announced the fourth album early in 2026, with the project releasing about a month and a half before he went on tour. He subsequently released a deluxe edition with four extra songs the day after. Opening night was slated to be here in Orlando, and the shows across the states sold out within minutes during presale.
Kahan and his team went all out: the merch was open to the public for general sale on June 10th, and there were even themed drinks at the bar for people to enjoy before the show based on some of his most popular songs.
Gigi Perez lived up to all expectations, playing her first arena in her home state and opening her nine-song set with Please Be Rude and playing a couple of songs from her first full-length album, At the Beach In Every Life, as well as live debuting her newest song, “collide”, a collaboration with Hayley Kiyoko. She also brought out her younger sister, Isabella Perez, to play a song they wrote together off the album “Sugar Water.” Perez closed the set with the timeless “Sailor Song” before Kahan took the stage thirty minutes later.
The production on this tour is nothing short of a spectacle: after a minute and thirty seconds of an Eras-tour-like countdown, Kahan made his entrance to “American Cars” and “Doors” before addressing his first sold-out show. “F*ck yeah, Orlando! Welcome to the first night of the Great Divide tour!” Kahan said with too much enthusiasm from the crowd. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for four years. Thank you so much for being here tonight. Let’s have a f*cking weird time.” He proceeded to play “All My Love” and then commented on the fact that his new stage had fans, so he wouldn’t get a heat rash. One thing about Noah Kahan is that he will have you laughing during his set at the completely out-of-pocket things he says and then make you sob on the floor because he decides to play songs like “Deny Deny Deny,” “Everywhere Everything,” and “Staying Still” on night two.
The stage is designed for Noah to move around constantly so everyone can see him, even with the jumbotrons attached to the sides of the stage. This maximizes his ability to be near his fans as well, and he had many interactions throughout the night. He started his second batch of songs with “Haircut” and then the live debut of “Downfall” before pausing to do a bit at a telephone booth near one of the spots by the barricade where he called his mom. “Hey, Mom. You want me to write an entire other album about your divorce? Okay, if you say so.” He then played another fan favorite off of Stick Season, “She Calls Me Back.”
The live debut of “Dashboard” was one of the points where the arena came alive. “I think most artists would tell you that our job, our only goal, is to spread positivity and light to all you guys,” Kahan said while introducing the song. “I couldn’t disagree more with that perspective. I think that’s stupid as f*ck. My goal is to leave you guys feeling negative, overall bad…this next song is about being an assh*le.” He then proceeded to play “Dial Drunk” followed by a performance of “We Go Way Back” on the roof of the house that is the focal point of his set, something many fans speculate is a reference to Taylor Swift performing on top of the folklore cabin during the Eras Tour. On the second night, he live-debuted ‘Willing and Able’ instead.
After playing “Porch Light,” Kahan surprised the audience with an intimate live debut performance of the recently trending song “Orbiter” with an extended outro, followed by “Paid Time Off” and the extended version of the fan favorite song “The View Between Villages.” On the second night, he included one of his first popular songs, “Maine,” a late addition to the setlist, as well as the live debut of “Dan.”
Kahan continued the night with his heavy-hitting but powerful songs, including “Northern Attitude,” “The Great Divide,” “Orange Juice,” and “New Perspective” before shifting to the piano to live debut the opening track of the new album “End of August.” He ended the show with two more upbeat songs, “Homesick” and everyone’s favorite “Stick Season.” “You know what time it is, Orlando,” Kahan said before introducing his last song. “It’s time to get sticky.” By far one of his funniest one-liners.
Kahan’s amazing two-night run here in Orlando is just the beginning of what the rest of the summer and this new era have to offer him, and I cannot wait to see what he does next.