Welcome to the Sticks, population: one million.
On September 13th, pop-folk singer Noah Kahan reached one million followers on Instagram. He celebrated with a story post on his Instagram, describing the mind-blowing experience of going from a small-town new englander to a sold-out musician with a million people supporting his work.
His reaction was endearing; the classic normal-guy-gone-famous image that social media eats up. This marker of his newfound fame was impressive, and attributed almost entirely to his 2022 album Stick Season. The album was released on October 14th of last year. This was less than one year ago. In that time, Kahan achieved hundreds of thousands of new fans, a sold out tour, a headline at Red Rocks, a Jimmy Kimmel and a Today Show performance, collaborations with Post Malone, Westly Schultz, and Lizzy McAlpine, and a second soon-to-be sold out tour announcement.
While Noah Kahan basked in the celebration of his newfound fame, many fans including myself were hit with the all too familiar feeling: I liked him before he was cool. Regardless of this fact, however, here he is. One million followers and a Post Malone collaboration later, he’s competing with other top folk-pop singers.
Why?
In the social media-centered world of 2023 anyone can become an instant celebrity, and people have done so at a faster rate than ever before. So why this guy? Is it his rustic small-town vibe? The man bun? The dog on his Stick Season album cover? Maybe.
Unlike some other pop singers, Noah’s fame doesn’t stem directly from his appearance, at least not in a “thirst-trap” type of way (Unless you have an alternative definition of thirst-trap). The majority of his performances feature him in overalls and a t-shirt, hair pulled into a practical bun.
Of course everyone argues that their favorite singer’s musical quality is amazing. The Noah Kahan fanbase is no different, though it’s no surprise that his sound drew listeners in the way it did. His music oscillates between the pop and folk genres, with some songs or albums being more of one or the other. Most of his songs have a low, acoustic sound, similar to artists like Hozier for example. Even his voice blends from light and smooth at times to rough at others in a way that feels truthful and emotional.
Part of this popularity may certainly be related to his image. A large facet of Noah Kahan’s public persona is the fact that he was raised in New England, in “the sticks”. This gives him a down-to-earth feel. He feels like one of ‘us’, a friend of a friend maybe, or the quietly talented musician at the bar that night. If there’s one thing that can be said about Gen-Z music fans, it’s that they love a musician that feels like a friend.
It also helps that Kahan has perfected Gen-Z appropriate humor. In attendance at his Saratoga Springs, NY show on September 2nd, Noah opened the show with the line, “I just wanted to let you guys know that this is the biggest crowd I’ve ever performed in front of. So basically I may piss myself a little bit”. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, his humor is relatable, and therefore popular. For more examples, see his Twitter page (I found the experience quite enjoyable).
Underneath Noah Kahan’s lyrics, humor, and general image, is also a deeper justification for his popularity, or at the very least an important one. Some of his songs, including some of those present in Stick Season, explore classic topics like breakups and heartache. Others talk about mental health, or to a healthier extent, therapy. Kahan has mentioned in multiple interviews his experience with anxiety and depression. It’s an unfortunately common trend in the modern world, famous or otherwise. The title of his 2019 album Busyhead is a direct reference to the condition. He has made it a direct theme of his fame as well with the creation of “The Busyhead Project”, which ensures that a portion of every ticket from his sold out Stick Season tour supports mental health initiatives. He is by no means the first artist to advocate for mental health, but his achievements do serve as an important milestone in mental health awareness.
In attendance at the Saratoga Springs show of Noah’s Stick Season tour, he described some of the deeper, more personal, meanings behind songs like “Growing Sideways” and “Call your mom”. As he talked about the process of resisting therapy treatment until his early twenties, or all of the feelings that surround a sense of hopelessness for yourself or others, the once-screaming audience quietly listened. During the songs that followed, fans sang and swayed earnestly. The concert became not just catchy tunes but feelings that people could relate to. I myself felt far differently about “Growing Sideways” after hearing it live. It’s one thing to guess the subject matter of a song, and it’s another to hear about the experiences that inspired it.
There was a time when things like therapy and mental health were taboo — or when people felt like they couldn’t admit that life is scary sometimes. There was also a time when many artists talked about things like sex, drugs, or “living the good life”. Now we live in a world where threats are behind every turn, and it’s no wonder that an artist who embraces this would resonate with so many people. Of all the ideas we could be promoting through music, Noah Kahan’s are million-follower worthy.
Featured Image by Johannes Plenio.
