Rolling Stone launched its first Stateside Festival in Kingston, New York over the weekend, and folk star Noah Kahan commanded the stage with a powerful Independence Day set.
A sold-out crowd of 4,000 pack the venue, making the festival a rare underplay for Kahan, who heads to Boston’s Fenway Park this week for four sold-out nights. Thunderstorms delayed the show for 90 minutes, yet Kahan still delivered a 75-minute performance filled with fan favorites like “Stick Season,” “Dial Drunk,” and “Great Divide.”
The festival leaned into folk, Americana, rock, and country. Rising singer-songwriter Gigi Perez opened the main stage before the storm cut her set short, while artists such as Sydney Rose, Arcy Drive, Bo Staloch, Bebe Stockwell, H Ingram, Derby, Michaela Anne, Calder Allen, and Devon Gilfillian kept the energy flowing throughout the day.
For Rolling Stone, Stateside marked a bold step into branded live events. The magazine already owns Las Vegas’s Life is Beautiful Festival, acquired in 2022, but this was the first time its iconic name fronted a U.S. music festival.
Kahan’s headlining slot capped a milestone year. He appeared on Rolling Stone’s June cover, released his acclaimed fourth album The Great Divide in April, and unveiled a Netflix documentary, Noah Kahan: Out of Body. Each project underscores his rapid rise as one of folk’s most compelling voices.
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