Noah Kahan & Jensen McCrae
April 9, 2024
Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON
Canadian Beats Passport
California’s Jensen McCrae opened Tuesday night’s show for Noah Kahan at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. McCrae’s folk-pop stylings have already garnered a large following for the singer, who released her first album “Are You Happy Now” in 2022. After releasing two singles in 2019 that gained popularity, McRae went viral in 2021 with her single “Immune” (currently clocking over 9 million streams on Spotify). With a stripped-down performance, Jensen McRae held the audience captive with her haunting voice, sharing her life experiences. According to McRae “I’m a Virgo. I write songs about mental illness, being brown, fearing adulthood, and falling in love with every boy who’s ever been nice to me. I am probably writing about you in my journal.” We can’t wait to hear what she does next.
Following a postponed show in London, Ontario due to illness, Noah Kahan took the stage with so much energy we could barely tell he was still a bit under the weather! Opening up with fan favourite “Dial Drunk” Noah had the full attention of the Canadian Tire Centre.
Throughout the show, he shared pieces of his life and anecdotes highlighting how his experiences shaped his music. With a set designed to look like his mother’s living room, Noah invited concertgoers in for a glimpse of his home and childhood. He has openly shared his struggles with mental health throughout his shows and interviews and has both shown appreciation for the support his parents provided, as well as noting how their divorce has impacted him.
Although “Stick Season” was released in 2022, Noah shared that he received his first record deal while still in high school in 2017. He received his parents’ encouragement to pursue a career in music, foregoing the usual push to attend college. Noah described how this came with its own set of challenges including isolation and loneliness. his parent’s support and self-reflections have influenced his songwriting and have clearly contributed to his success – hearing Noah’s fans sing every word of each song right along with him was truly a moving experience.
His set was full of surprises – including Noah popping up on a satellite stage near the back of the arena for several songs. Noah closed out the show with “Northern Attitude” complete with snow falling onto concertgoers. During his encore performance leaves dropped down to give the real “Stick Season” feeling.
With 5 Sold Out shows remaining on the Canadian leg of his tour, and international dates scheduled into December, we hope Noah Kahan can find the time to recover and keep writing! He is a skilled storyteller and performer, and we think we will be seeing a lot more of Noah Kahan.
