Sorry, the combined forces of James Taylor and Sheryl Crow: You may have been the top-billed headliner for Summerfest day three on paper, but down on the Big Gig grounds, Noah Kahan was clearly the main event of the night judging by Saturday's mammoth showing at the UScellular Connection Stage, one that sprawled across the entire northern section of the Summerfest grounds.

And thankfully, Kahan's set earned the blockbuster crowd, a turnout that brought back echoes of fellow recent Big Gig behemoth shows like Imagine Dragons, Walk The Moon and Lizzo.

 

 

 

 

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One would think, with a gathering this gob-smackingly gargantuan, that this was the rising singer-songwriter star's long-awaited Milwaukee debut – but Kahan actually just came to Brew City less than half a year ago, starting this current tour right here with a show that also attracted such a crowd that it had to be upgraded from the Riverside to the Miller High Life Theatre. His star has only gotten bigger and brighter since then – he playfully humblebragged during the Summerfest set that his album was up to No. 3 on the charts – and it says a lot about the "Stick Season" singer that so many showed up for seconds on Saturday night. (Or, if they missed his first round, certainly weren't going to make that mistake a second time.)

All for a show that, by modern standards, was fairly small and subdued (not in a negative way). Recent Big Gig grounds-breakers were either dance party pop stars (Lizzo, Walk the Moon) or bombastic anthemic rockers (Imagine Dragons). And then there's Kahan, with a modest stage set-up, a traditional backing band and strummy singer-songwriter tunes that are high on emotion and resonance if low on amped-up volume, velocity or theatrics, even cranked up for the live outdoor festival setting.

Walking past, some might've wondered what this act, of all acts, had done to earn such a monster turnout. As it turns out – stunner of all stunners, in this era of arena shows and extravaganzas – people still sometimes just want to hear and sing along to really great soulful music from the heart, performed by a calmly charismatic stage presence. And that's what they got at the UScelllular Connection Stage on Saturday.

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After a few chants of "No-ah!" tried to summon him on stage early, the star of the show took the spotlight with a jaunty salute to the ecstatic throng before jumping into his opener, "All My Love." Led by Kahan's mandolin, the stompy and plucky folk rock number – playing like Mumford & Sons but without the hipster bootlegger cosplay – made for an ideal opener, delivering energy and emotion while the crowd sang along so loud it almost rendered Kahan unnecessary.

The crowd would maintain that enthusiasm for the rest of the night, as Kahan cooed into "Everywhere, Everything" and "She Calls Me Back" – the former handing the spotlight over to lead guitarist Noah Levine for some satisfying guitar solos. The songs may be generally mellow, but Kahan and company know how deliver a good cathartic burst of rock or fiery-fingered mandolin fun – such as on "New Perspective," Kahan's skippy tribute to dragging people down and making happy people as bummed out as you – amidst it all too. 

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Of course, leading it all was Kahan. The New England-based singer-songwriter embraced a playfully shaggy yet sincere vibe for the show, introducing songs with asides warning the crowd to not call the number in "She Calls Me Back" and get him in trouble or his dreams of pushing happy people into traffic before "New Perspective." 

He maintained that darkly humorous edge leading into "Growing Sideways," talking about his history in therapy, how he lied his way through it when he was younger before actually embracing honesty and the process at 23. The intro gave greater gravity to the solo acoustic track, a confessional of a song that kept the generally young late-night festival audience rapt with nothing but sincere emotional honesty and a strumming guitar.

Sometimes the show threatened to get too shaggy – occasionally with Kahan (taking a lap through the pit before "Northern Attitude" for ... reasons?) but mainly on the technical side of things. An apparent microphone issue led to a short on-stage fix right after "False Confidence," while the white projection banners behind the stage sometimes brought warm color and video to the show ... and sometimes brought obvious glitches, with seemingly computer code and programming popping up as a backdrop. Not that the crowd was there for technical theatrics anyways – and indeed, thankfully, the production was all more supplement than star, as the music and performance kept the audience's attention.  

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After the escalating roar of "Your Needs, My Needs" and the anthemic "Northern Attitude," Kahan reached the final run of his set. The star ran through the plucky hit "Dial Drunk," his tribute to being comfortable alone – so much so, he'll eat hibachi by himself, he joked to the crowd – with "You're Gonna Go Far," the hillbilly-tinged banjo-fueled "Orange Juice" and his sing-along favorite "Homesick." And indeed, the crowd sang along. Again, Kahan's vocal chords could've taken a load management night on Saturday considering the crowd's vocal participation – without needing to be goaded, either.

After a brief sojourn offstage that wasn't quite an encore break but wasn't NOT an encore break (come on, we're so close to abolishing the tyranny of needless encore baiting!) Kahan and company hopped back on stage, this time with the singer-songwriter rocking a personalized Brewers jersey to the crowd's appreciation. Now fully Brew City-ized, Kahan finished the night off with "The View Between Villages" and – of course – his smash hit "Stick Season."

The set ended tightly at the 70-minute mark – perhaps a little short for such a significant headliner set, especially with plenty of older material left off the list – but judging by the crowd's reaction, including one pristine rose thrown to Kahan on stage, everyone seemed more than content.

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With his impressive musicality crafting small-scale songs with big feelings, raw nerve lyricism and modestly personable on-stage approach, Kahan confirmed – for the second time this year in Milwaukee – that he's a star. The only question remaining: Which stage with Kahan outgrow next time he's in town?

Setlist

"All My Love"
"Everywhere, Everything"
"She Calls Me Back"
"False Confidence" (tech issue after)
"New Perspective"
"Growing Sideways"
"Your Needs, My Needs"
"Northern Attitude"
"Dial Drunk"
"You're Gonna Go Far"
"Orange Juice"
"Homesick"

Encore
"The View Between Villages"
"Stick Season"