Upper Valley’s Noah Kahan on NBC’s Saturday Night Live

It doesn’t get much bigger than this.

Noah Kahan, former Strafford, Vermont and Hanover, New Hampshire resident, appeared as the musical guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on Saturday, December 2, 2023. He performed two musical numbers, “Dial Drunk” (click hyperlink to view) and of course, the one for which we Upper Valley residents have a particular appreciation, “Stick Season.”

Take a listen (above). I am older and new music often has a way of eluding me. But, “this generation’s Paul Simon,” I thought when I saw this performance. Then I read about his upbringing in the UV, which included his father teaching him to play the guitar, and . . .

“ . . . Meanwhile, his mom kept her iPod full of songs by artists like Paul Simon and Cat Stevens, which Kahan listened to from a young age and grew an appreciation for the way they wrote.” —People Magazine, December 1, 2023.

Kahan has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The Grammys will air live from Los Angeles on CBS and stream on Paramount + at 8 p.m. on February 4, 2024. 

We’ll be watching with fingers crossed and a measure of Upper Valley pride.

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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.