Only singer-songwriter Noah Kahan could get San Franciscans decked out in Boston Red Sox gear at Oracle Park on a Friday night.
On Aug. 21, the Vermont native brought his stadium tour, The Great Divide, to the sold-out venue, performing his fourth studio album of the same name. Featuring the supporting acts of Gigi Perez and Annabelle Dinda, the night brought a distinctive New England folk flare to the ballpark. Blending sounds of folk, pop and melancholic storytelling to the San Francisco Bay Area, it was a night one wouldn’t want to miss.
One of Kahan’s signature skills, shown throughout his musical catalog, is his journey of self-discovery. This central idea of homecoming serves as the emotional anchor to his music. His complex relationship with family, fame and being homesick are central themes in The Great Divide.
Kahan is known for pairing folk-pop imagery with country-style orchestration, with banjos, fiddles and rhythmic patterns framing his signature sound. The night’s setlist was a mix of his more recent catalog, including songs from his breakthrough third studio record, Stick Season.
Kahan’s lyricism is directly reminiscent of his New England upbringing. His lyrics are specific, filled with references to his hometown, Strafford, Vermont, capturing the frustrations and experiences of growing up in a small town.
The show’s accompanying stage design of a rural middle-American house served as the centerpiece of the concert, brought to life by the team at STUFISH Entertainment Architects. Upon entry, the audience was immediately immersed into Kahan’s manifestation of Strafford, physical and digital effects making the house appear to grow alongside the changing seasons. Altogether, these effects dissolved into an affective metaphor of what makes a certain place a home.
A particularly beautiful moment of the concert was a more simple one, when Kahan performed his song “Willing and Able” perched on the roof of the house. The facade of the home faded, leaving behind only what was tangible to Kahan and the audience.
Before his performance of “Staying Still,” Kahan joked how the song was about how much he despised the Boston Logan International Airport. For a San Francisco crowd, the references may have been unfamiliar, but Kahan’s ability to capture raw feelings in his music allowed for the sentiment to be universally understood. Kahan uses his love for his hometown as an emotional vehicle, creating a shared listening experience that transcends state lines.
A highlight of the night was his performance of “End of August,” a tender piano ballad about the fleeting moments of life and truly feeling alive for the first time.
Another standout moment from the concert was the transition between “Orbiter” and the night’s surprise song “Call Your Mom.” The two fan favorites created a particularly beautiful moment, made even more magical when a shooting star crossed the sky during “Call Your Mom.”
Led by the tour’s live camera director Mike Bourner, his direction of the “Dial Drunk” sequence utilized the large screens creatively, the audience watching as Kahan is “arrested” and put into the back of a cop car. With a cameraman in the backseat, Kahan was shot through the car’s various mirrors as he sang into them, creating a memorable and theatrical storytelling experience.
There is beauty in the irony of a group of people from the foggy corner of Northern California screaming along to songs about New England and its bitter, snowy winters. Yet, there is something familiar about Kahan’s music that anyone can relate to, regardless of where you come from.
As his songs attest, home isn’t a physical place, but a universal experience shaped by perspective and understanding. At Oracle Park, Noah Kahan found his home on the road; for a few hours on a windy San Francisco evening, so did thousands of concertgoers.