Noah Kahan is from the (very) small town of Strafford, Vermont, population about 1,100. His upbringing is reflected in his songs. "Isolation, curiosity about the world at large, and the beauty of my surroundings all tie in to the folky sound I try to elicit," he told
WTBU Radio.
Kahan went to high school in Hanover, New Hampshire, but moved back to Strafford after he graduated.
When he was 16, he started posting his songs on Soundcloud. One of them, "
Sink," got the attention of Republic Records, which signed him to a record deal. "Sink" was released as a single in 2017 and appeared two years later on Kahan's debut album,
Busyhead.
He got accepted to Tulane University the same week he was offered a record deal. It was an easy choice: He always wanted to be a musician, so he took the record deal, deferring his admission to Tulane to leave that option open in case music didn't work out. His three siblings all went to college, so Noah's parents were happy to avoid at least one set of tuition payments.
His mother, Lauri Berkenkamp, is a popular author of children's books. Using the pen name Maxine Anderson, her titles include Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself and Explore Spring.
She has played a hands-on role in shaping Noah's music career. She's the first person who hears nearly every song he writes and someone whose opinion he values as highly as any industry professional. He's said that their shared pride in his music is one of the most rewarding parts of his success.
Kahan has dealt with anxiety and depression throughout his life, but has always felt comfortable discussing it with his family and getting help when needed. When he started writing songs, he had no problem expressing these thoughts, which often show up in his lyrics. He knows that many people aren't in a position to openly discuss their mental health, and hopes that telling his story through his songs will help reach them.
His 2022 song "
Stick Season" brought him to a new level after it became wildly popular on TikTok. His fans showed an almost Swiftian dedication, and in 2023 he announced his We'll All Be Here Forever tour, with stops at Madison Square Garden, Fenway Park and the Hollywood Bowl that all quickly sold out.
In 2023, Kahan announced The Busyhead Project to help raise money for organizations devoted to mental health. "I've been given so many wonderful opportunities in my career and it really is all for nothing if I don't try and give back to the community that has supported me," he posted with the announcement. "If I can help anyone get through their struggles, it will be the proudest achievement of my career."
After signing with Republic Records in 2016, most of his touring was as an opening act. Some of the artists he opened for include George Ezra, LP, Milky Chance and Ben Folds.
When Kahan was about 8 or 9, he started experiencing episodes of depersonalization - the experience of feeling unreal, detached, and often unable to feel emotion. "I feel like I'm floating above myself and I come to this sudden realization that I don't feel like I am in the world – it's like living in a dream,"
he told the UK newspaper The Guardian. "I think, looking back, that's probably the first manifestation of my depression and anxiety."
Asked if he still experiences the disorder, he said that after taking Prozac in high school, having therapy, doing exercise and eating well, he came to the realization that "it never really leaves." He still gets it when he's "really stressed out."
Noah Kahan tied the knot with his longtime partner, photographer Brenna Nolan, in their home state of Vermont on August 23, 2025.
Noah Kahan and his mom drove to Providence, Rhode Island, to audition for America's Got Talent. He waited in line for seven hours for his shot but didn't make it past the first round. "I was in between a Desert Storm veteran and a 9-year-old girl," he explained at his 2025 benefit concert at MGM Music Hall at Fenway with characteristic self-deprecating humor. "Apparently having mild anxiety wasn't compelling enough of a story."
The rejection didn't slow him down for long. As he told the Fenway benefit crowd: "I got a record deal like a month later."
In 2026, Kahan appeared on the web series Celebrity Substitutes, which casts famous people as substitute teachers in elementary school classrooms. In season 2, episode 12, Kahan teaches the kids about storytelling and how to find inspiration through art. They put their new skills to use by rewriting Kahan's song "Deny, Deny, Deny" and performing it for their teachers.
The 2026 Netflix documentary Out Of Body chronicles Kahan's rise to fame around the time his Stick Season album thrust him into the mainstream spotlight. The singer-songwriter allowed his life to be filmed for a year and a half as he navigated his sudden success and its effect on his mental health and family life. Kahan is used to baring his soul through his music but not onscreen, which made him nervous about sharing the film, but he thought it was worth it if his story could help someone else. "Maybe it will reach one of you in a time when you need it. Maybe you'll see some of your own family in mine," he wrote on Instagram.
In 2025, Kahan earned his second Grammy nomination when "
Cowboys Cry Too," a duet with Kelsea Ballerini from her
Patterns album, competed for Best Country Duo/Group Performance ("
II Most Wanted" by Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus won). Kahan and Ballerini first met at the previous year's awards ceremony, where Kahan was being considered for Best New Artist.
Kahan has a female best friend who follows him around on tour, but his wife doesn't have to worry - Penny is a German shepherd Kahan got as a puppy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Penny and her littermate Oma (his mom's dog) appear on the cover of Stick Season. Kahan also mentions dogs in several of his songs, including "Mess," "All My Love," "Howling," "Your Needs, My Needs," "The View Between Villages," and "Paul Revere."
Kahan's honest songwriting sometimes gets him into trouble, which is a lesson he learned after he performed his very first song, "Wednesdays Are The Worst Days Of My Life," at an elementary school talent show. "I had to go to mandatory therapy for two weeks with the school guidance counselor because people were so concerned," he
told Billboard in 2018. "It was a banger, honestly. But they just couldn't understand it yet."
