Festival Review: Noah Kahan At British Summer Time
Noah Kahan turns Hyde Park into a folk-pop pilgrimage with surprise guests and emotional highs.
Under the weight of London’s muggy summer air, Noah Kahan delivered the biggest headline set of his career to 65,000 fans at BST Hyde Park and he didn’t do it alone. With a carefully curated line-up of transatlantic talent and a few jaw-dropping surprises along the way, the Vermont singer-songwriter transformed day four of the festival into something more like a communal celebration than a typical stadium show.
Kahan opened his set with ‘All My Love’, the slow-build confessional that signalled we were in for a night of open hearts and oversized choruses. Hits like ‘New Perspective’ and ‘False Confidence’ followed, before Gracie Abrams joined him for a duet on Everywhere Everything, offering one of many spine-tingling moments in a show that rarely let up emotionally.
“I came to London and played to 77 people and it was the greatest day,” Kahan beamed, visibly overwhelmed. “There’s a lot more here tonight.” The singer’s gratitude was palpable throughout, whether pacing through the crowd to high-five ecstatic fans, or tearing up as he introduced ‘Call Your Mom’, a duet with support act Gigi Perez, and a tribute to his own mother who was watching from the crowd.
But the moment that truly lifted the night into festival legend territory came in the encore. As Kahan launched into ‘Northern Attitude’, he was joined – to deafening screams – by Lewis Capaldi. Both wearing Chelsea FC shirts and grinning like kids at a sleepover, the pair harmonised through the fan favourite as though they’d been performing together for years. Capaldi, fresh off a Number One with ‘Survive’, hit the high notes with ease, helping Kahan close out the night before the inevitable singalong to ‘Stick Season’ brought the set home.
What’s becoming increasingly apparent is that Noah Kahan’s success isn’t a passing moment. From folk-tinged tearjerkers to stadium-sized catharsis, his music speaks to a generation trying to hold it all together.