Current:Home > FinanceMeet Noah Kahan, Grammy best new artist nominee who's 'mean because I grew up in New England' -WealthPro Academy
Meet Noah Kahan, Grammy best new artist nominee who's 'mean because I grew up in New England'
View
Date:2025-04-22 11:27:24
From the woods of Vermont to the Grammys stage, fans often credit Noah Kahan for a resurgence of folk-pop music.
His 2022 album and its 2023 deluxe counterpart may have resonated particularly with jaded New Englanders (see “Northern Attitude” and “Homesick”) but lyrics about change, complicated relationships, anxiety and depression appealed to audiences far and wide.
“They’re singing about specific roads in a town that no one in New England knows about, let alone people in London,” Kahan told The New York Times late last year.
Nominated for a best new artist Grammy here’s everything to know about the “Stick Season” singer.
Who is Noah Kahan?
Singer-songwriter Kahan is best known his folk-pop album “Stick Season,” an ode to growing up in New England infused with self-deprecating, introspective lyrics about struggles with mental health, love and homesickness.
“If I get too close/And I’m not how you hoped/Forgive my northern attitude/Oh, I was raised out in the cold,” he sings on the opening track “Northern Attitude.”
You may know him for his various collaborations; he's collecting them like infinity stones, some fans say. There’s “Dial Drunk” with Post Malone, “Northern Attitude” highlighting Hozier’s folksy wails, “Call Your Mom” with Lizzy McAlpine, “She Calls Me Back” with Kacey Musgraves, “Everywhere, Everything” with fellow Grammy nominee Gracie Abrams and, most recently, “Homesick” featuring Sam Fender.
Kahan is laying the final groundwork of the “Stick Season” universe Feb. 9 with a new song (“Forever”) and two new collaborations on tracks from the deluxe album, “You’re Gonna Go Far” and “Paul Revere.”
When are the Grammy Awards?Host, 2024 nominees and more
How did Noah Kahan get famous?
Kahan spent his high school years performing at open mics and uploading his music to YouTube and SoundCloud. This is how manager Drew Simmons found him, according to Spin Magazine. Republic Records offered him a contract the same day he auditioned for them.
He released his debut album “Busyhead” in 2019, followed by "I Was / I Am" in 2021. His latest album, "Stick Season," peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's album chart and is RIAA certified Gold.
What genre is Noah Kahan?
“Busyhead” and Kahan’s second album “I Was / I Am” in 2021 veer more into pop territory than the “stomp clap hey” sound of “Stick Season.”
“I was writing music that I wouldn’t listen to,” he told Boston Magazine. “My escape was writing little folk songs for myself.”
Still, they maintain focus on a subject that’s core to Kahan’s songwriting – mental health.
“The happiest person out here today should be in therapy,” he told a crowd of 40,000 at Boston Calling in 2023, where he drew the largest crowd in the festival’s 10-year history, according to Boston Magazine. His charity “The Busyhead Project,” raises money and awareness for mental health care.
His 2020 EP “Cape Elizabeth,” which he wrote in a week back home in Vermont, foreshadows his later releases with folksy guitar riffs on “A Troubled Mind” and up-north imagery in “Maine.”
When a TikTok he posted of what would later become “Stick Season” blew up, Kahan realized there was a real hunger for that kind of folk-infused pop that he’s become a household name for.
Where is Noah Kahan from?
Kahan is from Strafford, a Vermont town with a population of just over 1,000 close to the border of New Hampshire. He went to Hanover High School when his family lived in the nearby New Hampshire town of Hanover where he played soccer and performed at local restaurants with his friends.
Apple Maps even has a “Hyperlocal” guide called “Noah Kahan’s New England Spots” that features New Hampshire and Vermont burger joints, steakhouses, guitar stores and delis.
How old is Noah Kahan?
Kahan is 27 and was born on New Year’s Day in 1997.
Just Curious for more? We've got you covered
USA TODAY is exploring the questions you and others ask every day. From "Who is Gracie Abrams?" to "How much does Spotify pay per stream?" to "How to download music on Spotify" – we're striving to find answers to the most common questions you ask every day. Head to our Just Curious section to see what else we can answer for you.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- How the Ukraine Conflict Looms as a Turning Point in Russia’s Uneasy Energy Relationship with the European Union
- Inside Clean Energy: The Coal-Country Utility that Wants to Cut Coal
- Man accused of trying to stab flight attendant, open door mid-flight deemed not competent to stand trial, judge rules
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Avril Lavigne and Tyga Break Up After 3 Months of Dating
- Take 42% Off a Bissell Cordless Floor Cleaner That Replaces a Mop, Bucket, Broom, and Vacuum
- The CEO of TikTok will testify before Congress amid security concerns about the app
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Exceptionally rare dinosaur fossils discovered in Maryland
Ranking
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Andy Cohen Has the Best Response to Real Housewives of Ozempic Joke
- The Senate’s New Point Man on Climate Has Been the Democrats’ Most Fossil Fuel-Friendly Senator
- RHOP Alum Monique Samuels Files for Divorce From Husband Chris Samuels
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- The Indicator Quiz: Inflation
- Kylie Jenner Is Not OK After This Cute Exchange With Son Aire
- The Pandemic Exposed the Severe Water Insecurity Faced by Southwestern Tribes
Recommendation
Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
15 Products to Keep Your Pets Safe & Cool This Summer
Driver hits, kills pedestrian while fleeing from Secret Service near White House, officials say
A California Water Board Assures the Public that Oil Wastewater Is Safe for Irrigation, But Experts Say the Evidence Is Scant
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
50-pound rabid beaver attacks girl swimming in Georgia lake; father beats animal to death
Why Cynthia Nixon Doesn’t Want Fans to Get Their Hopes Up About Kim Cattrall in And Just Like That
Inside Clean Energy: Rooftop Solar Could Lose Big in Federal Regulatory Case