Noah Kahan Brings Hope to Fans at Wrigley Field That He Can’t Deny, Deny, Deny

by Aprille Hanson-Spivey

Aprille Hanson-Spivey Photo

Noah Kahan has built his brand around diving “heart” first into the depths of despair with deep and sad lyrics — after all, most artists do not have a tour shirt that says, “I went off my meds at Noah Kahan’s 2026 North American Tour.” But the vibes were pure adrenaline and joy on July 14 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. It was the first of two sold-out shows, drawing about 40,000 fans each night at the historic venue. 

It was the seventh stop on his 22-city tour, fresh off performing a four-night run at his favorite venue, Fenway Park in Boston. 

It was my first time seeing Kahan, an artist I fell in love with after hearing “Paul Revere,” an extra recording on his 2023 Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), expanded from 2022’s breakout Stick Season.

What is fascinating about Kahan is his ability to command a crowd of 40,000, while still feeling like a small-venue artist. Because his songs are so personal and lyrical, I was curious how they would feel in a venue that large. It was entirely different from what feels like individual musical therapy sessions guided by his voice coming through the car speakers. 

While he said during the show that he’s not there to spread optimism, helping people feel heard and seen through music brings hope, and that’s exactly what fans felt at his concert. The crowd’s bright, flashing wristband lights mirrored the hopeful energy woven into his entire setlist. 

With little talking, he blazed through 24 songs, including the typical fan favorites like “Dial Drunk,” “Orange Juice,” “The View Between Villages” and new favorites from his latest album, The Great Divide, starting with “American Cars,” “Doors” and later “Downfall” and “Deny, Deny, Deny.” 

Aside from the iconic “Stick Season” to close out the show, “Dial Drunk” seemed to be the most fun for both the crowd and Kahan, as he was “thrown” into the back of an old police car on stage, singing directly into the camera inside the car for a bit of the song. It was electric singing what’s considered for Kahan to be a banger, along with everyone in the stadium. 

But the moments that truly lived up to one of his tour T-shirts, “Noah Kahan Made Me Cry,” were his surprise song of the set, “Call Your Mom.” ‘Mom’ was an extra song from his 2023 extended ‘Forever’ album, and centers around the desperate lengths someone will go to to save someone they love from succumbing to suicide. It’s a song I hadn’t really listened to much before this concert, and it was the only one that made me cry. It’s a pleading song, emphasizing, “All lights turned off can be turned on.”  For those who have lost someone to suicide or know someone who has attempted, it’s a song that taps into both helplessness and hopefulness. 

“Orbiter,” off of ‘Divide’, performed with Kahan lit up in a spotlight on a part of the stage extended into the crowd right before “Call Your Mom,” set the tone for a quieter part of the set, with “Dan” also added to the mix. 

His three-set encore included “End of August,” “Homesick” and “Stick Season.” 

While there’s only so many songs he can add in, “End of August” has consistently been a part of his encore on each stop, which is a bit surprising. It’s the first song off of ‘Divide,’ but it seems a little too slow and new to kick off the encore. I would have loved to hear “Paul Revere,” “Everywhere, Everything,” “Headed North” or “Growing Sideways” (his surprise song the next day in Chicago) instead. 

But truthfully, it’s hard to create a more perfect setlist than what Kahan fashioned for this tour. It was the little things, like the wristband lights, his name, tour dates in Chicago and “sold out” spelled out on the iconic Wrigley scoreboard, his openers, Annabelle Dinda and Gigi Perez, setting the right tone for his fans in the blazing heat, that made the experience special. 

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