Noah Kahan took the stage Thursday night at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium while on the road for his Stick Season nationwide tour. Kahan opened with “False Confidence” and “Everywhere Everything,” electrifying the crowd.
“It went above and beyond my expectations,” said Emily Osborne, a freshman attendee from Ohio University.
The show opened with Austin-based duo Briscoe, made up of Truett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton, who performed some new unreleased acoustic music the two have worked on. They brought out a variety of instruments, including a saxophone and harmonica, which set the mood before Kahan came on stage.
The “Jewish Ed Sheeran,” as he introduces himself, who hails from Vermont, came on stage with overalls and braids to perform his third album, "Stick Season." Since the spring and summer tour dates were announced in December 2022, Osborne heard Kahan was listed to come to OU on his tour; she knew she had to come.
“I started freaking out and texting all my friends,” said Osborne.
The concert even brought people from out of state. Logan Falk, a senior from James Madison University, came to Athens to see her friend from high school Jemma Downey, a senior in the college of education at OU.
“I was hoping he would come to my school … when Jemma texted me, I knew I was going to come up (to Athens) immediately,” said Falk.
Over the past few years, Kahan’s music style has shifted from experimental in pop to more indie and folk. His “Stick Season” album exploded on Spotify and social media, attracting many new fans to the show and those who like the new image on his third album. The rise in popularity over the last year has contributed to his concert on Thursday nearly selling out.
“He came out with a pop song called ‘Hurt Somebody’ a few years ago … his more recent album is more folk and that is the kind of stuff I listen to,” said Zoe Harrison, a freshman.
Many people from around the area came to the highly anticipated concert, including Carlee Lehman from Little Hocking, Ohio, who said she had been excited for months in anticipation.
Their setlist ended with the band leaving with Noah Kahan for a few minutes and coming back to play the most well-known song on his album, “Stick Season.” Kahan called to the crowd to lead the chorus, and the crowd was out of their seats singing at the top of their lungs.
At the end of the set, the whole band took a bow and met fans outside for a group photo, posting it on his Instagram story later.
