At just 27 years old, Noah Kahan has experienced a meteoric rise to fame from his small hometown of Stafford, Vermont, an unlikely spot for stardom. His sentimental folk lyrics resonate deeply with his now vast audience, touching the hearts of many.
Kahan’s journey began at 8 years old, with his father teaching him guitar and his mother perfecting his writing ability. Uploading his music to YouTube with hopes of achieving success, he could hardly anticipate the sensation he would one day become.
Kahan graduated from Hanover High School in New Hampshire, and like many students, applied to universities to further his education. He was accepted to Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, but ultimately decided this wasn’t the path he wanted to take. With his parent’s wholehearted support, he dove headfirst into his music career.
By the age of 19, instead of attending college, Kahan found himself opening for Milky Chance on their national tour. He later signed with Republic Records and split time between New York City and Los Angeles attempting to finish his first album.
By June 2019, “Busyhead” his debut album was perfected and released. Unfortunately, despite the tireless work he put into this album only one song managed to hit the charts, “Hurt Somebody” seen on multiple international markets.
Facing setbacks and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kahan returned to his roots in Vermont, where he honed his craft and produced his second album “I was/ I am”, eventually released in 2021. The album had not one mainstream hit.
How could someone so talented receive no recognition?
In came TikTok, a platform Kahan joined in October 2022 to promote snippets of his unreleased songs. “Stick Season”, which today is one of his top-performing songs, gained massive popularity and resulted in Kahan gaining thousands of followers very quickly. Kahan began to show his quirky personality, which many began to adore.
As Kahan continued to post, his audience continued to grow, as he teased the release of his full album “Stick Season”. With the help of his producer Gabe Simon, the full album was released in July of 2022 skyrocketing his career into unforeseen territories. Kahan was jump-started into mainstream music, hitting #14 on Billboard 200.
His 21st-century folk lyrics about small towns, self-discovery and emotional maturity resonated with his growing audience, eventually even gaining the attention of other artists.
Kahan collaborated with some of his most admired musicians, like Post Malone, Kacey Musgraves, Zach Bryan and Hozier. These were artists he had only ever dreamed of working with, but now it was his reality. These collaborations were for his deluxe version of “Stick Season: We’ll All Be Here Forever”, which was released in June 2023.
He continued to see massive growth as his popularity grew in conjunction with the release of new music. Kahan, who started slow, now had a following of millions. Fans overcome with emotion, frequently posted clips to social media sobbing while he sang on stage.
The boy who grew up on a 133-acre tree farm, just hoping others would resonate with his lyrics, was just nominated for his first Grammy nominee, Best New Artist. Despite not winning the Grammy, Kahan’s momentum continued with the release of “Forever” on Feb. 9, the final version of his “Stick Season” album.
Kahan’s ability to tell a story through lyrics and share this vulnerability with the world has made him a favored artist by many. From 8 years old he knew he had a special gift, it was just a matter of how long it took the world to find it. Tweet us, @VALLEYmag, which Noah Kahan’s lyric hits close to home.
