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“This is For My Home State”: Noah Kahan Performs Two New Unreleased Songs in Charleston, ‘All Them Horses’ and ‘If It Helps You’

December 2, 2024 4:35 pm GMT

During his intimate one-off set at Charleston's Riviera Theater on November 30th, Noah Kahan treated the packed-out crowd to two unreleased tracks, ‘All Them Horses’ and ‘If It Helps You’.

The ‘All My Love’ singer-songwriter has teased both in recent months, with Noah sharing an acoustic snippet of ‘If It Helps You’ back in July, while the folk-leaning artist has performed ‘All Them Horses’ at past tour-stops. However, this Charleston, South Carolina performance marks the first time the latter has been played with a full band.

Both capture Noah Kahan's unique ability to lace gut-wrenching, visceral emotion into his lyrics, while still packaging up his raw emotionality in a sleek, infectious earworm of a melody.

Both are expected to be included on Noah Kahan's forthcoming Stick Season (Forever) follow-up album, which is due to arrive at some point in 2024, and will hopefully feature other previously shared offerings such as ‘Pain Eater’ and ‘The Great Divide’.

It seems Noah Kahan is continuing to use Vermont as a prominent muse for his highly anticipated new record, with the state also serving as the cornerstone of Noah's Stick Season era.

While introducing ‘All Them Horses’, the ‘Call Your Mom’ crooner explained how the evocative track was inspired by the devastating flooding that Vermont experienced earlier in the year, with Noah expressing his feelings of guilt at not being there while this was happening. It felt like a particularly apt setlist inclusion for this event, given the fact that proceeds from Noah's Charleston show were aiding the recovery of small businesses in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Milton.

Noah Kahan reflected, “[I was] feeling like I wasn't around during this really tragic time in the month, and I know that there's been so many affected by the flooding down here. This next one goes out to anybody that was affected by it or had a loved one that affected by it. It's called ‘All Them Horses’...this one's for my home-state”.

Across a foreboding guitar, Noah kicks off the introspective track, with ‘All Them Horses’ building in intensity as he reflects on the damage caused by the violent weather.

Noah feels especially mournful over the bravery of horses struggling to stay alive during the catastrophic deluge (“See the dried flood lines on the neighbor's porches / Do you remember crying for all them horses? / They did not look scared at all”.

The graphic, storm-related imagery will have no doubt struck a chord with attendees in South Carolina, given the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in late September.

The second unreleased track that Noah Kahan decided to add into his stacked Charleston setlist, ‘If It Helps You’, has been a beloved fan-favourite for a number of months now.

Similarly to ‘Pain Eater’, ‘If It Helps You’ finds Noah Kahan self-critically examining his success, stepping into the shoes of an old friend who accuses him of changing. Across an uptempo instrumental, Noah croons, “Tell me, if a lie turned true / A lie it would still be / You ain't a goddamn hero now 'cause you cry on live TV”.

Noah Kahan's Charleston show was organised as part of the 2024 Small Business Saturday celebration, with the balloted event being presented by American Express.

Elsewhere during the set, Noah treated ticket-holders to live-wire performances of Stick Season highlights such as ‘Everywhere, Everything’, ’She Calls Me Back’, ‘Northern Attitude’ and ‘Homesick’, as well as serenading the audience with rare live renditions of Hurt Somebody's ‘Catastrophize’ and Cape Elizabeth's ‘Anyway’.

For Noah Kahan's full setlist at the Riviera Theater in Charleston, South Carolina: