Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan is honored that his concerts provide an opportunity for men to feel their feelings.
“I see old men and frat dudes crying at my shows,” Kahan, 27, said during a Wednesday, June 19, interview with GQ. “That’s the f—king greatest thing in the world. I’m telling you, as a guy it’s incredibly rare for two men to cry next to each other, and to see that in a crowd is so special.”
While Kahan’s brand of confessional folk-pop appeals to both men and women, he admitted that he’s particularly touched when men see themselves in his music.
“I love all my fans, but there’s something special about a young man who is able to sing these kinds of songs,” he explained.
Much of Kahan’s discography explores mental health struggles. On “Growing Sideways,” a song from his 2022 album, Stick Season, Kahan recounts a therapy session “on some sad-eyed middle aged man’s overpriced new leather couch.” Despite telling the therapist he’s “cured,” it’s not that simple.
“I divvied up my anger into thirty separate parts / Kept the bad s—t in my liver and the rest around my heart / I’m still angry at my parents for what their parents did to them, but it’s a start,” he sings.
Kahan, who recently partnered with the nonprofit Backline to provide free mental health services to his touring crew, recalled feeling misunderstood by a therapist during his chat with GQ.
“I saw a therapist who told me that there was no reason I should be sad because I was playing The Ryman in Nashville — because he’d looked at my tour schedule. This infects your life,” he said. “I want to be around people who agree to this unwritten rule of making each other feel normal, but it’s getting harder and harder.”
Kahan was launched to mainstream success in 2022 after Stick Season debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, his first appearance on the chart. He has since collaborated with stars including Post Malone, Kacey Musgraves, Hozier and Zach Bryan, and has performed live with Olivia Rodrigo. He was nominated for Best New Artist at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards and attended the February 2024 awards show with his mom.
“It just felt like being in a cafeteria in school and not knowing anybody,” he told GQ of his Grammys experience. “I did not enjoy it. I felt jealous and insecure.”
The night’s silver lining came when Kahan reunited with his friends and brother at a hotel after the show and commiserated about his loss to Victoria Monét.
“Together with two of my guy friends — who are tough New Hampshire [and] Vermont guys who are not gonna cry really — we just all sat there and f—king cried,” he recalled. “That camaraderie and pain they were feeling was truly beautiful. It was as good as a Grammy for me, feeling like these are my people and they really care. I fit in here.”
