Entertainment

Noah Kahan to headline Belfast Vital

The Grammy nominated star is making his Belfast debut this summer

Noah Kahan
Noah Kahan
By Sophie Clarke

NOAH Kahan has announced he will be headlining one of Belfast’s biggest festivals this summer. The folk-pop star will be playing Belfast Vital at Boucher Road Playing Fields this August.

Since releasing his third album, Stick Season in 2022, Kahan’s career has gone from strength to strength between embarking on a world tour with many stadium and arena dates already sold-out and being nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy at this year’s awards.

In February Kahan released Stick Season (Forever), the third and final iteration of the album (a deluxe version, titled Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) was released in 2023). This new version of the album features duets with Post Malone, Kacey Musgraves, Hozier, Gracie Abrams, Sam Fender, Brandi Carlile, Lizzy McAlpine and Gregory Alan Isakov.

Kahan’s previous albums highlight the evolution of his music, for example, Busyhead (2019) was filled with tracks that embodied the light catchy indie pop genre – the sort of easy listening that you might hear in a hairdressers or dentists. In 2021 he released his second album, I Was/ I Am which felt more personal and emotional – however it wasn’t until Stick Season that he finally found a definitive sound, penning songs with vulnerable lyrics and unfiltered yet relatable honesty about his New England roots.

His latest album also focuses on the strange liminal space between late adolescence and adulthood with a nod to the even stranger liminal space that was the pandemic years between 2020 and 2022, “Doc told me to travel, but there’s covid on the planes,” Kahan sings on title track Stick Season. His best lyrics are clever, earnest and create a unique sense of yearning – feelings that many 20 somethings can relate to which is probably why popstars like Olivia Rodrigo and Maisie Peters have performed covers of his songs.

Peters will join Kahan as his special guest when he makes his way to Belfast for the first time on Saturday, August 17.

Tickets go on sale on Friday March 15 at 10am from Ticketmaster, over 16s show. Up to two under-16s can go to Vital accompanied by a parent or guardian over 25.