Chappell Roan made a surprise appearance at Noah Kahan’s sold-out Rose Bowl show last night (Aug. 15) in Pasadena, Ca., joining the singe/songwriter for a duet of her song “California.” The pairing of the acts, who share the same management company, highlighted Kahan’s biggest headline show to date, with more than 56,000 fans on hand at the famed college football venue.
Kahan’s career-spanning set drew heavily from his Platinum-certified spring album The Great Divide, including the title cut, “Orbiter” and “American Cars,” while also reaching back to his 4x-Platinum Stick Season for “Dial Drunk,” “Northern Attitude” and the beloved title track and the 2020 EP Cape Elizabeth for the tour debut of “Glue Myself Shut.” Gigi Perez and Annabelle Dinda opened; Perez also joined Kahan for “She Calls Me Back.”
“Thank you for having me. Noah always stands up for me. Seriously! He’s a good person, for real. For real,” Roan, whose real name is Kayleigh Amstutz, said before the song began. Kahan added, “We’re gonna sing the first song I ever heard of Kayleigh’s and the reason I fell in love with her music. I’m just really proud of her and thankful that she would come sing with me.”
The Rose Bowl milestone comes amid extraordinary demand for Kahan’s The Great Divide World Tour, which is sold out in its entirety across North America, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and Europe. The North American onsale moved more than 1 million tickets instantaneously, while Kahan recently made history at Boston’s Fenway Park with four sold-out performances — the first artist ever to sell out four shows at the iconic venue. He was also inducted into the Fenway Music Hall of Fame.
The North American portion of the run continues tomorrow at San Diego’s Petco Park and wraps with back-to-back shows at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on Aug. 30-31. Kahan then heads to Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and Europe this fall.
Kahan’s touring success is also fueling his mental health advocacy through the Busyhead Project, his nonprofit focused on expanding access to mental health resources and reducing stigma. Since its 2023 launch, the organization has raised nearly $7 million, and the tour will likely raise another $2 million in partnership with Live Nation. Kahan will headline the second annual Folk & Fairways benefit and golf tournament for Busyhead on Sept. 14-15 in Stowe, Vt.