“You guys ready to feel like absolute s— tonight?” asked Noah Kahan with a knowing smirk. “You came to the right place.”
Except, the 40,000 fans inside Chicago’s Wrigley Field, all of whom braved a heat wave, came for an entirely different reason — and Kahan knew it.
When he sang “Dashboard” during the second of two sold-out nights at the baseball stadium, particularly during the line “you always went looking for an easy out,” a fan declared to their friend: “that’s me.” And when he wrapped the show with his downer-turned-upper of a hit “Stick Season,” couples in the crowd couldn’t help but joyously dance along, smiles plastered on their faces as fireworks erupted.
Earlier in the set, after performing his masterful “Orbiter,” Kahan even called his own bluff, admitting that he knows many came to not feel like s— – or at least, to feel camaraderie in it. “To be able to look out into the crowd and see how happy you all are and connected you are makes me feel like there’s a point,” he shared.
For Kahan, that point has only sharpened in recent years. By more or less singing about the times he has felt like s— , Kahan has built a fast-growing fandom that feels seen, heard and guided by the folk rocker. And if his third album, 2022’s Stick Season, catapulted him into a different league, then this year’s epic 21-track The Great Divide helped him become MVP.
There is genuine value in Kahan’s music that comes across even more in a live setting where its impact is tangible. Where families go together and sing about generational trauma right alongside Kahan; where couples grin to “All My Love” (perhaps blissfully ignoring that it’s about an ex); or where friends scream-sing “you’re an asshole, after all” with their heads tossed back, surely envisioning someone who has taken up too much mental space.
So, despite the fact that Kahan cautioned fans would feel like s— during his two-and-a-half hour set, and even though The Great Divide itself is a stunning if not saddening listen, this tour is anything but. And that’s what makes it feel so special. No matter the devastating depth of Kahan’s songs, when performed live they become bigger than the topic at hand. And as a result, The Great Divide Tour is actually a place to put feeling like s–t on pause – and instead, as Kahan said himself, feel happy and connected.
Read below for the five best moments from Kahan’s second show (July 15) at Wrigley Field.
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The Great Growth
“It is an absolute joy to be here,” Kahan mused, surveying the packed stadium. “Every time I look out into a crowd like this, I pinch myself.” He then shared some context, recalling how nearly 10 years ago he opened for Milky Chance at Chicago’s 165-person venue Schubas. Even more surprising, he was late to his own gig after being kicked out, all because his friend “pissed off the roof,” he shared. “When I play a venue like this, I think thank god I’m not 19.” And while Kahan’s growth is well documented across his four albums, it’s spotlighted on The Great Divide Tour as he performs some of his most realized material while delivering the songs with a career-best vocal performance.
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Beguiling Banter and Bits
For those who don’t recall, or are perhaps trying to forget, just a few weeks ago at a tour stop in Philadelphia, a fan allegedly pooped on the stadium floor, prompting Kahan to write on X the next day: “If you have to poop at a show please dear god just go to the bathroom.” Tonight, Kahan once again had the bathroom on the brain – and seemed to have come around on the earlier incident. “I think I have that new diarrhea virus,” he shared. “Every piece of information that comes out about it makes me feel like I definitely have it… If you have that diarrhea problem, at this point, just let it out on the floor.”
Later, during the intro to “She Calls Me Back” – during which Kahan answers a payphone caller, with guests so far including David Ortiz, Gronk and his mom – he received a call from God. “People at this stadium should be able to get ketchup on their hot dogs without feeling like a little kid?” he questioned, as if God was stating it as fact. Naturally, such a statement earned Kahan a low “boo” from the crowd – which he rebounded from by telling God, “yes, I did get a hole in one yesterday, thank you so much.”
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The Setlist’s One-Two Punches
Across the setlist, there are two moments in which two songs perfectly follow one another: “Dial Drunk” into “Willing and Able” and “Northern Attitude” into “The Great Divide.” On its own, “Dial Drunk” is a standout of the show – it gets the most theatrical treatment, with Kahan being placed in a cop car capturing various camera angles, including one profound shot that shows Kahan singing to himself in the side view mirror. But the fact that “Dial Drunk,” a song that lacks any accountability, leads into the accountability anthem that is “Willing and Able” is pure genius. And later, when he dives into “Northern Attitude” ahead of “The Great Divide” – both finale-worthy tracks that even precede the encore – it highlights just how much of a hitmaker Kahan has become.
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Growing Sideways Tonight Queen?
For anyone following along, Kahan has taken to X ahead of his shows each night to cheekily reveal what song will be added to that evening’s set list, using the same question for the queen format. (Notably, he has slightly varied his setlist from night to night beyond just one pre-teased addition.) Ahead of his second Wrigley Field show, he asked: “Growing sideways tonight queen?” And sure enough, he delivered – and then some. Kahan also treated fans to his elusive and praised “Pain Is Cold Water” – a song he has long performed live but never recorded or released, save for on his 2024 Live From Fenway Park album. It was the song’s first appearance on The Great Divide Tour.
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He’s With the Band
Kahan’s touring band – Noah Levine (guitar, banjo), Mike Harris (guitar, bouzouki), Dylan Jones (piano, mandolin, banjo), Nina de Vitry (fiddle, mandolin, banjo), Alex Bachari (bass) and Marcos Valles (drums) – is a tight-knit sixsome that together manages to bring the comfort of a bonfire jam session to stadiums. Each member also exists fully on stage, taking up space and delivering enough charisma to match Kahan’s, making every person feel not only vital to the overall sound but just as importantly, the overall vibe on and off stage. And on “End Of August,” the first of three encore songs (along with “Homesick” and “Stick Season”), the band gets a boost from a three-piece horn section – a treat for the ears ahead of the firework show that delighted eyes as Kahan’s second sold-out Wrigley Field show came to a close.
