“The Great Divide,” Noah Kahan’s fourth studio album, was announced through Instagram on Jan. 28, withits release date set for April 24, 2026. Along with that, he announced a tour for that album beginning June 11 in Orlando, FL. The first single from the album, also titled “The Great Divide,” had already been released and received positive reviews, along with some criticism.

Alissa Mourad ’27, a fan of Kahan, has high hopes for the new release and is already loving the music that is out.

“I was so excited when he announced it,” Mourad said. “I listened to [The Great Divide], and I thought it was magical.”

“The Great Divide” follows his biggest success, “Stick Season,” which is the album acredited with his rise to fame. “Stick Season” has an indie-folk vibe, but “The Great Divide” album features a different producer, Aaron Dessner, known for his work with other artists such as Taylor Swift. Critics online claim that the first single is “overproduced,” though Lillian Okonoski ’28 has been a Kahan fan for years and believes his fame will continue to rise.

“I think this album will make him even more famous,” Okonoski said. “Because he’s already a big artist and his fanbase will most likely love the album, and when big artists release music, they go up in streams.”

Still, the pressure is on. Can Kahan top the success of “Stick Season”? And is the change of producers the right move? Questions like these have become a topic of discussion by critics, but fans like Johnny Sceglio ’29 think “The Great Divide” is an opportunity for Kahan to become even better.

“I think he’s definitely trying to improve with each lyric and each song,” Sceglio said. “I think [‘The Great Divide’] is going to be better than the last one. I think by adding more variety to this album, rather than his same kind of genre, he could branch out to a bigger audience.”

Kahan has gone from performing in small venues to selling out stadiums. He even placed restrictions on the price of resold tickets in order to make ticket access easier for fans. His music, passion and overall authenticity can be credited for his popularity.

“He shows passion in his music,” Sceglio said.” He shows his true colors, and I really think he’s trying to put out real artwork with each album.”