casey's (not the gas station)

Every year, like clockwork, my social media feeds flood with Spotify-Wrapped posts from all my friends. Among all the typical top artists like Taylor Swift and Drake, there was a name who I’d never seen before this year. Noah Kahan. One of my close friends back home was the one who first introduced me to him, saying that he performed at her college recently and she’d been a fan ever since. Now, as the year comes to a close, Noah Kahan has found his way into the top 5 of many Spotify Wrapped’s. So…what’s the allure behind this one guy? “In many ways, Kahan represents a new archetype for a male artist,” says an article from Boston Magazine. “He’s Vermont, but not crunchy. Countryside, but not country. Long-haired and bearded, but not greasy. Masculine, but emotionally evolved” (para 11). Kahan’s music is identified by a few instruments, a personal atmosphere, and poignant lyrics.

One way to identify Kahan’s niche is by comparing him to Jason Aldean, who also topped the charts this year with his hit song, “Try That in a Small Town”. Jason Aldean, a country superstar, wrote the song to speak out against the current culture of individualism and deviance. His sentiments in the song received backlash over the seemingly racist and violent undertones in the song. Noah Kahan also writes about his small town in New England, instead of saying he wants to convey the sentiments of Steinbeck with Salinas or Stephen King with Maine. Noah Kahan’s music seems to cater to an audience not yet identified: small-town kids who feel alone, teens struggling with mental health, and even fans of the genre that seems to have all but dissipated in the 00s.

Kahan’s songwriting also shows a new-age view on topics like mental health. He notes that he grew up in a household where it was not taboo to talk about things like that. His mom, after all, wrote books about how to help failing families. These introspective, mature themes connect with an audience ready for deeper meaning in their songs. One of my close friends and teammates, Nick Schiltz, commented on why he thinks Noah Kahan’s music feels different than others: “All of his songs have a mature storyline. When you listen to Kahan’s music, it doesn’t feel like country, it’s more like its own genre. I think the acoustic feel to his songs make them sound so unique.”

My close friend back home, Grace Pham, also agreed with this sentiment, saying: “I was not often drawn to country/folk music because I didn’t really resonate with the message that I felt mostly spoke to people who had southern upbringings and held an unrelatable view of love an life.” Kahan has proved that there are people out there that will listen to the genre, and country just needs a bit of a modern twist.

Another artist has proven that country is still in, that being Lil Nas X when he released “Old Town Road” in 2018. While Kahan’s music and Nas’s are nothing alike put side to side, they both are questionable of the country genre. “Old Town Road”. At first, the track made it onto Billboard’s “Hot Country Songs” list, but a week later, Billboard removed it from the country chart and has since defended its decision. Many people called the song “trap-country”, and the song went on to receive multiple Grammys. I think both artists prove that country is long due for a change, and that massive audiences are waiting for it to happen. While his songs are deep, another friend of mine adds that his songs are still catchy and fun to listen to. Alli Madden adds: “It’s a mix of upbeat and catchy sounds and deep lyrics. On the surface they’re fun to jam to but they just get better when you really listen to them too”.

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