In early February, Noah Kahan announced an impressive North American stadium tour in support of his upcoming fourth album, The Great Divide – and it’s already sold out. Equally impressive: the measures Kahan and his team have taken to ensure that tickets ended up in the hands of fans – and for face value.
“Selling out his first stadium run this quickly speaks to the deep connection he’s built with fans through both his music and his live show,” says Michael Yerke, a global tour promoter at Live Nation, which is promoting Kahan’s tour. “He is always intentional about the fan experience, making thoughtful decisions to ensure fans can access and enjoy his shows.”
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For the Great Divide outing, Kahan made use of two Ticketmaster programs that aim to improve the fan experience when it comes to purchasing concert tickets. One of these is identity verification, known as Persona, in which Ticketmaster uses multiple forms of identification to help block potential scammers. Kahan used Persona verification during presale signup to help protect fans, making him the first artist to do so.
Additionally, Kahan is using Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange program, which caps resale prices at the original price paid with no added fees. Since becoming available in 2019, artists including Hayley Williams, Billie Eilish and Foo Fighters have used the program.
“Noah’s priority has always been the fans,” says manager Drew Simmons, a partner at Foundations. “I’m proud to work with an artist that is willing to take risks and lead the way by implementing these new security measures, a first at stadium scale.”
Simmons adds that “beyond fighting bots and brokers,” the team prioritized keeping ticket prices reasonable, with floor seats starting at $150, including fees. The team also ran a lottery for the general admission pit, offering up a portion of those tickets for $100, including fees.
“Noah’s relationship with fans is meaningful and the demand for tickets has been exceptional,” says Simmons. “We’re already looking ahead to what we can do next to offer more.”
Not only is Kahan making his shows more affordable and accessible to fans, but he is continuing his work – on and off the road – as a mental health advocate through The Busyhead project, which he launched in 2023. Busyhead has raised over $5.5 million to date, and with The Great Divide Tour, will earn another $2 million thanks to Ticketmaster and Tickets For Good’s Make a Difference initiative, which helps teachers, healthcare workers and non-profit staff receive free or significantly discounted tickets. Both Kahan himself and Live Nation contributed donations of $1 million to the Make a Difference program, which will be donated to The Busyhead Project.
Kahan’s sold-out stadium run – which includes an unprecedented four nights at Fenway Park – sold over one million tickets. The 30-date tour begins June 11 in Orlando, Fl. and wraps Aug. 31 in Seattle, Wash.
Kahan’s last album, Stick Season, became a cultural phenomenon. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and its title track earned Kahan his first Hot 100 top 10. He bested that placement with The Great Divide’s lead single and title track, which debuted at No. 6.
