Noah Kahan • August 25, 2026 • America First Field
Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe
Noah Kahan brought The Great Divide Tour to America First Field in Sandy on August 25, turning what has been a massive stadium tour into what became a much more up close and personal night for us here in Utah. For example, I have friends who saw Noah in a packed Rose Bowl. That place holds 90, 000 people for football games. I believe there were just over 22,000 at America First Field. It was the smallest show on the entire tour. Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo doesn’t usually have concerts outside of The Stadium of Fire, and I imagine Rice-Eccles Stadium wasn’t available due to the upcoming college football season. So we got the home of MLS team Real Salt Lake as the hosting venue for this show. And it was to our benefit.
Noah Kahan and Utah Concert Review go way back. We were fortunate enough to see him on his way up. We even interviewed him a couple of times. Seeing him perform when he sold out The State Room was amazing. Especially considering the last three times we’ve covered him, he played to over 20,000 people. The impressive thing is he still seems like the down-to-earth, humble guy we spoke to years ago.
While America First Field was an enjoyable venue to see a concert, the parking situation was not. I imagine there will be more concerts here, and if so, there needs to be something figured out about the parking infrastructure. My friend exited the freeway and didn’t park until almost an hour later. I parked over a mile away and just rented a scooter so I didn’t have to wait that long. Hopefully future shows will be better.
There was a buzz heading to America First Field. It wasn’t quite the same, but the last time I felt a buzz similar to this was when I covered Taylor Swift in Denver. People were dressed up for the show. Fans who weren’t able to get a ticket found places outside to be able to listen. Inside the stadium was electric. Groups of fans ranging from friends who got tickets together to parents who surprised their Noah fan with tickets caused a stir within the crowd. The countdown began, and once the clock his zero. The band took the stage, followed by Kahan.
The night started on the main stage with “American Cars,” followed by “Doors,” “All My Love,” “Deny Deny Deny,” and “Staying Still.” It was an energetic way to begin the show, with Kahan quickly settling into the role of a headliner who was clearly comfortable playing to a stadium-sized audience.
One of the more interesting parts of the production was the way Kahan moved around the venue. Instead of spending the entire concert on the main stage, he made his way to different parts of the setup throughout the night. He walked down the catwalk and down some stairs to a payphone. Noah answered the phone, and God was on the other line. He shared with God that he tried dirty soda for the first time, stating that it was “very good and I can see why folks are into it.” It should come as no surprise that this delighted the audience. For “Haircut” and “Downfall,” he appeared on a B-stage, giving another section of the audience a much closer look at the singer.
Kahan then returned to the main stage for “She Calls Me Back,” bringing opener Gigi Perez back out to join him. Their performance provided one of the evening’s standout moments. Noah then continued with “Dashboard” and “Dial Drunk.” During “Dial Drunk,” he acted out a scene where a police officer chases him and puts him in a police car. He sang most of the song from the car, singing into a camera and using the mirrors on the car for different angles.
The production shifted to another location when Kahan performed “Willing and Able” and “Porch Light” from the roof of the house built into the main stage. My first thought was how amazing his view of the audience must be from up there. Sitting on a roof playing brought an intimacy to the show that I really enjoyed.
Noah Kahan moved to what I guess I would call a C-stage. He joked, saying, “I’m all the way over here when before I was over there. Okay Taylor Swift mode.” Noah then talked about playing in Salt Lake City over the years. He stated, “I’ve been coming here for years. Every single time it’s an amazing show. Even when I was a small artist playing The Depot and playing small venues around the city. You guys always showed up. So if you’ve been watching me since I was 19 or 20 years old, I want to say thank you very much.” I’m not going to lie, it felt good knowing I was one of those people. He then shared that his family was with him at the show.
Noah then mentioned that he has a hard time accepting praise. He told us that when he hears the crowd cheer, he looks back to see if we’re cheering for someone else. “I feel like I’ve cared too much about being successful or people thinking I’m talented.” He followed that by sharing that when he gets up on stage, he’s deserving of being there because of the crowd’s support. He finished his talking points by sharing his condolences to the family of Dolly Parton, who passed away earlier in the day. “She was an inspiration to all of us as musicians. It shows that no matter how big you are or how successful you’ve been, you can always lead with kindness. I really appreciate that lesson from her. I hope that we can all take that into our lives.”
Kahan then performed “Orbiter,” “Strawberry Wine,” “Paid Time Off,” and “Pain Is Cold Water,” on his own. Those solo acoustic songs were followed by “Maine” and “Dan,” where his band joined him on the C-Stage playing acoustic instruments. It was an Americana moment, and I loved it. One because I love that style of music, and two because it was the closest Noah was to me the whole night.
After the C-stage set, Kahan made his way back to the main stage for the final portion of the regular set. “The View Between Villages” seemed to signal we were headed for the home stretch. One of the most epic moments, if not THE most epic moment, of the night was when Noah played “Northern Attitude.” That song was meant to be played live. I saw a video later that evening of a fan recording that song from the outside of the stadium. Even from their spot, the audience was so loud and powerful in their sing along. I absolutely loved this moment. People were dancing and hugging their friends or kids. It was clearly a moment they had been dying to be a part of, and they did not waste it. The light-up wristbands looked amazing as arms waved in the night sky.
“The Great Divide” had the difficult task of following “Northern Attitude.” But the song was a perfect follow-up. The momentum continued, and if the encore hadn’t already been set, there was no way Noah was going away for good after the way the audience roared.
The encore began with “End of August.” Noah and his band were joined by a horn section for this one. These were all local musicians invited to play this song with Kahan. What an opportunity! This will be a core memory forever. “End of August” was followed by “Homesick.” Kahan then closed the performance with “Stick Season,” a song that gave the crowd the perfect opportunity to take over the vocals. “Stick Season” had to be the closer. It’s such a great song and an excellent way to encapsulate the entire evening.
The outro music was Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” played in honor of Parton following news of her passing that day. After such a large and energetic concert, the familiar song provided a reflective way to close out the evening and gave the audience a moment to remember an artist whose music has meant so much to generations of fans. It was fun to see the crowd sing along and dance, showing their appreciation for Dolly Parton and showing that they were not ready to leave just yet. America First Field was a party for a little while longer as the credits rolled on the screen and the stadium lights came up.
If there is any complaint about this show is that Kahan doesn’t play anything from his first two albums. I get it; his last two albums have upwards of twenty songs on them. And they’ve been smashing successes. So I imagine it’s hard to squeeze some of those early songs into the already packed 26-song set. But I would love to hear some of those early hits, like “Hurt Somebody,” “Mess,” or “False Confidence.” I think they’d be amazing to hear and deserve to be played in a big stadium. But if that’s the big complaint coming away from this show, I think things went well at America First Field.
Whether it be a 300-capacity venue like The State Room or a 90, 000 seater like the Rose Bowl, Noah Kahan knows what he’s doing. He’s a great songwriter and an excellent performer. I’ll always do what I can to attend his shows whenever he tours.
