On October 15th, rising global phenomenon Noah Kahan made his major sports arena debut at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas. Of the thousands of people excitedly showing up to scream their hearts out to Kahan’s depressing songs, I happened to be one. 

   Dressed as the style “granola girl” or like someone who climbs mountains and goes on hikes, but make it chic, I made my way into the stadium. The feeling of walking into an arena of people who all collectively share a love for Kahan’s music was exhilarating, to say the least. 

  To see people traveling from near and far, dressed in flannels, dresses, and plaid, just as I was, is incredibly heartwarming to remember. Knowing we’ve all had something going on to have a reason to relate to Kahans’ music to the heart, to know we all share that deep connection and appreciation, and to be in the same room together, is something I’ll forever cherish. 

 Although I’d bought us nosebleed seats, all the way in section 325, it was unforgettable. It really is true when they say no seat is a bad one when you’re going to the show of someone you truly love. 

  At roughly 9:30, Kahan made his way onto the stage with his song Northern Attitude. The energy that rose up in the stadium was electric, and the gratitude and appreciation for his music was apparent in the way that the whole room screamed along to every single lyric to every single song. 

 Although every song was so incredibly exciting to hear live, the ones that I remember the most are Orange Juice, one of his older songs called False Confidence, and lastly, the song I remember most from the memorable night was Call Your Mom. 

  Call Your Mom is a song from the Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) album; it follows the story of two people, one who’s on the brink of giving up and another who’s trying to help the other out. The concept of “I’ll call your mom.” which is a lyric in the song, follows that the person understands that the other is desperate to give up, but that they’ve got them, that they’ll be okay, and that for them, they’d call the other person’s mom. 

  The other bit of the song that held great significance in my heart overhearing it live was the part of the bridge, “Medicate, Meditate, Swear your soul to Jesus, Throw a punch, Fall in love, Give yourself a reason, Don’t wanna drive another mile wonderin’ if you’re breathin’ So, won’t you stay, won’t you stay, won’t you stay with me?” These lines hold so much weight because they mean so much to so many people. The piece itself is incredibly sad, but I feel like it gives so much hope to many people who need it. 

  Kahan stated before playing the musical piece that he usually never plays Call Your Mom because it’s such a sad song, but he decided to play it for us. I think that by him doing that it meant so much to so many of the listeners who came to the show that night. It was a great decision on his part, and it was especially sentimental for me and the person I went with. 

  The night was truly unforgettable and so sentimental to experience. The next time Kahan shows up in Texas, I’ll be ready to belt my heart out to his heartbreakingly beautiful music all over again.