“The Great Divide”: Listen To An Unforgettable Album
Carrigan Hamilton, Senior Staff Writer
Released on April 24, 2026, American folk singer and songwriter Noah Kahan dropped an emotionally heavy album titled The Great Divide, produced at both a farm in Tennessee and Long Pond Studios in New York. The deluxe version of the album, The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs, released a day after the regular album, features 21 songs. The album has a cozy, warm feeling while listening to the album further connecting to themes of nature and nostalgia.
The album opens with “End of August”, a song that contains forest sounds in the background of the track which adds a campfire-like ambience. Shown in the very first track is that reflective mood which is continued throughout the album to the very end with a song titled “Dan.” The last track is a song written about a 20-year friendship which started in the singer’s childhood. Noah Kahan sings of the importance of cherishing and preserving these long-term friendships.
St. Joe Alumnae Ainsley Hamilton speaks of her opinion on the singer, “I think Noah Kahan is a talented songwriter and storyteller and it shows in his music,” Hamilton offered. “His lyrics show emotional depth. I’m going to his concert this summer, and I’m excited to hear him live.” She mentions how she feels the singer’s passion in his lyrics as the album continues, which proves how Kahan’s lyrics are strongly relatable and connective to his listeners.
As Hamilton mentioned, she is going to Noah Kahan’s U.S. leg concert which officially starts June 11th in Orlando, Florida. He has a fully sold out show scheduled to perform in 22 cities, including Missouri’s very own St. Louis, where he will be performing at Busch Stadium.
Released a few days before the album, a Netflix documentary titled Noah Kahan: Out of Body is centered around the singer’s “rise to fame.” It speaks of Noah Kahan’s experience of once just singing at smaller venues, and rising up to soon sell out at larger stadiums. Similar to the vibes of the singer’s album, the documentary reflects the concept of nostalgia, sharing Noah Kahan’s personal life and story of growing up to become the folk singer and songwriter he is today.
Noah Kahan states in the documentary how he had been “close to giving up music” when Covid-19 came, he mentioned how he “woke up” into writing music again, writing his album Stick Season where his popularity officially began. In the album, he wrote about Vermont, a term holding a metaphorical meaning for being stuck in the “middle ground” of life.
Unlike regular pop music, Noah Kahan expands the genre to what is called folk-pop, which creates a more unique style with deeply written lyrics while managing to stay mainstream. Noah Kahan’s music resonates with his listeners, not only because of the memorable tunes he creates, but on a personal level, further understanding the singer in a more vulnerable way.
Through writing of his own experiences of mental health, childhood friendships, and the complexities of growing up in his hometown, Kahan is able to produce music that fully connects with his listeners, helping them see their own selves in his lyrical songwriting.
