Noah Kahan

Noah Kahan has been married to Brenna Nolan since August 23, 2025, when they held a private ceremony in Strafford, Vermont. The couple had been in a relationship since at least 2014 and lived in several locations, including Nashville and Watertown, Massachusetts, before making their home in Vermont.

Kahan has openly discussed his experiences with anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia. He began therapy as a child and later described taking medication, meditating, and changing his behavior as important parts of his healing. His experiences inform songs such as "Growing Sideways," and he has also discussed them in the Netflix documentary Noah Kahan: Out of Body.

Kahan grew up with his parents and three siblings on a 133-acre tree farm in Strafford, Vermont. His father, Josh Kahan, taught him to play guitar, while his mother, Lauri Berkenkamp, who wrote parenting guides, taught him about writing. He began writing songs at eight and received his first guitar at 10.

He attended Hanover High School in Hanover, New Hampshire. As a child, he uploaded songs to SoundCloud and YouTube, gradually building an audience. He was 19 when he first toured, opening for Milky Chance, and he signed with Republic Records in 2017.

Kahan's early recordings included the viral 2017 single "Young Blood" and the five-song Hurt Somebody EP, released in 2018. An updated version of "Hurt Somebody" featured Julia Michaels, and the song reached the Billboard Hot Rock chart. During 2018, he toured with The Strumbellas and George Ezra, made his late-night television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and completed his own North American and European headlining tour.

His debut studio album, Busyhead, arrived in 2019. He followed it with Cape Elizabeth, an acoustic EP written in Vermont over the course of a week during the COVID-19 pandemic. The EP included "Pride," recorded with mxmtoon. His second album, I Was / I Am, was released in 2021 and included the collaboration "Someone Like You" with Joy Oladokun.

Kahan began sharing snippets of "Stick Season" on TikTok in 2020, two years before releasing the complete song. The track became the foundation of his third studio album, Stick Season, which arrived on October 14, 2022. The album focused more fully on folk songwriting and New England settings, including the transitional period between autumn and the first snowfall that gives the title its name.

Stick Season debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 and became Kahan's mainstream breakthrough. Its expanded editions, Stick Season (We'll All Be Here Forever) and Stick Season (Forever), added songs and collaborations with Post Malone, Lizzy McAlpine, Kacey Musgraves, Hozier, Gracie Abrams, Sam Fender, Brandi Carlile, and Gregory Alan Isakov. "Dial Drunk," recorded with Post Malone, became Kahan's first Billboard Hot 100 hit, while "Sarah's Place," his collaboration with Zach Bryan, reached number 14.

The title track reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and the Australian ARIA Charts, and peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Kahan received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and won Best New Artist in the Alternative or Rock category at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards. He also collaborated with Kelsea Ballerini on "Cowboys Cry Too" and performed at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival.

Kahan founded the Busyhead Project to provide mental health resources and information, particularly for Vermonters and marginalized communities. The initiative has supported organizations providing crisis care and long-term mental health services.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott proclaimed September 19, 2024, as Noah Kahan's Busyhead Project Day. Kahan performed a sold-out benefit concert that day, with proceeds going to Vermont-based mental health organizations. He has also used livestreams, ticket sales, and charitable auctions to support mental health services and Vermont flood recovery.

Kahan announced his fourth studio album, The Great Divide, in January 2026. He wrote and recorded the album in settings that included Nashville, Guilford, Vermont, upstate New York, and Only, Tennessee. The title track and "Porch Light" preceded the album's release.

The Great Divide debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and spent three consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. Its release was followed by The Great Divide Tour, Kahan's first stadium tour.