It took us long enough. Noah Kahan's music has been rattling around on the Internet for the better part of a decade — in TikTok and YouTube snippets, as well as on a string of albums that culminated in his 2022 breakthrough Stick Season. The Vermont singer-songwriter became a superstar so gradually, it was easy not to fully notice him until he was selling out stadiums. Only now, in the days leading up to his tremendous fourth album, The Great Divide, is he finally making his Tiny Desk debut.
Fortunately, we seemed to grab him at or near the height of his powers. The new songs here are wonderfully incisive and catchy, as they radiate empathy for loved ones and places from his past. And the older cut, "Orange Juice," showcases his skills as a tender balladeer whose songs have a way of literally and figuratively welcoming listeners inside.
Speaking between songs, Kahan is as funny and self-effacing as ever, whether he's praising NPR newscaster Lakshmi Singh (always the way to our hearts), comparing the room surrounding the Tiny Desk to "Gattaca headquarters," lamenting his own sweatiness ("I'm hoping this sweat makes it look like I'm crying") or proposing a take-a-penny/leave-a-penny system for distributing Lexapro to other guests.
Still, the songs are the stars here — and the new ones rank among his finest work to date. Fans are surely already steeped in "The Great Divide," with its evocative portrait of a friendship viewed in hindsight. But they'll also get a chance to immerse themselves in two other fantastic new songs: "American Cars," which opens this set in rousing fashion, and "Paid Time Off," which closes out the proceedings with a majestic, solo-laden hoedown.
SET LIST
- "American Cars"
- "The Great Divide"
- "Orange Juice"
- "Paid Time Off"
MUSICIANS
- Noah Kahan: vocals, guitar
- Noah Levine: guitar, banjo, background vocals
- Mike Harris: guitar, bouzouki
- Dylan Jones: piano, mandolin, background vocals
- Nina de Vitry: fiddle, mandolin, banjo, background vocals
- Alex Bachari: bass, background vocals
- Marcos Valles: drums
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Robin Hilton
- Director/Editor: Kara Frame
- Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Catie Dull
- Audio Engineer: Tiffany Vera-Castro
- Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dhanika Pineda
- Photographer: Virgina Lozano
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
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