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Noah Kahan returns home, raises more than $1.5M for The Busyhead Project and Red Sox Foundation
"I don't care if I'm playing for three people, 3,000, 30,000 –it's crowds like these that make me want to play music for the rest of my life," the singer-songwriter told the audience at MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Thursday.
Noah Kahan:
Noah Kahan knows that no one should have to be “all alone inside [their] busyhead.”
The singer-songwriter, who was raised in Vermont and New Hampshire, has been vocal about his own mental health journey over the years, speaking both on stage and on social media, as well as revealing those experiences through his music.
On Thursday night, he played a benefit show with all proceeds split equally between Kahan’s mental health initiative The Busyhead Project and the Red Sox Foundation. A video montage of Kahan’s time at Fenway and his experiences working with both nonprofits kicked off the event at MGM Music Hall at Fenway.
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Representatives from The Busyhead Project and the Red Sox Foundation then appeared on stage to reveal that the event had already raised more than $750,000 for each organization, or a combined $1.5 million.
Additionally, they shared that the City of Boston declared Thursday to be The Busyhead Project Day.
On top of the initial $1.5 million raised, the event featured a silent auction, including many music- and Fenway-themed offerings. Red Sox legend David Ortiz even donated a variety of his own signed merchandise.
“Noah, man, thank you so much for all you have done for the community and for this opportunity to shine a light on two amazing charities,” Big Papi shared in a video message before Kahan took the stage, apologizing for not being there in person.
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Arriving on stage around 7:40 p.m., Kahan reenacted a baseball windup before throwing a ball to a member of his band. The moment served as a bit of redemption for his first pitch at Fenway Park in 2024, in which the ball bounced and fell short of home plate.
“I wish I could reverse time and do that again,” Kahan had posted on his Instagram story after that moment.
Over the course of the next hour and 20 minutes or so of the event, the two-time Grammy-nominated artist performed 16 songs — including a new, unreleased one called “Deny Deny Deny” and a special performance of “Northern Attitude” with surprise guest Niall Horan. He also declared his love for Boston over and over, referring to it as the “best city on earth.”
“It’s a great thing to come home,” Kahan said, as he thanked the crowd. “This is the only city in the world that I’ve ever felt at home at, and I want to say thank you guys so much for sticking with me and being here to see us tonight.”
His down-to-earth relatability, poking fun at his own flaws and insecurities, and his proud New England roots are truly what makes him so beloved, especially here in Boston.
Thursday’s benefit felt like a natural fit. Not only does Kahan care about the charities at the center of the event, but he relates to the needs of the people the charities support.
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Even as his profile has grown and the size of his concert crowds has increased, his connection to the audience remains just as pure.
“I don’t care if I’m playing for three people, 3,000, 30,000 – it’s crowds like these that make me want to play music for the rest of my life,” he told the MGM audience.
Kahan then took time to shout out his parents, who were in the crowd Thursday.
“We went to America’s Got Talent in Rhode Island about, what was it, 10 years ago, Mom? And I didn’t make it past the first round because I was in between a Desert Storm veteran and a 9-year-old girl,” Kahan said. “Apparently having mild anxiety wasn’t compelling enough of a story, but I remember I got a record deal like a month later.”
As he has done at previous Boston shows, Kahan also recalled his first show in the city, noting that his name was spelled incorrectly on the marquee at Brighton Music Hall.
He would soon go on to play the 5,000-seat MGM Music Hall in 2022, Boston Calling in 2023, and last year, he played two back-to-back sold-out Fenway Park shows.
Thursday’s benefit was an intimate, stripped-back version of those Fenway shows.
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With just a spotlight on him, Kahan brought vulnerability to the stage with solo acoustic songs like “Pain is Cold Water” and “Maine.”
He balanced this with more energetic, but still deeply emotional songs, supported by his five band members, including “Dial Drunk” and “Homesick” — the latter of which included some cathartic yells.
“Now that we have a lot of crowd momentum, I’m just going to completely destroy it by playing some really slow and sad s—, but I think if we do another upbeat song, I might collapse on the floor,” Kahan even joked after “Homesick.”
What kind of impacts are The Busyhead Project and Red Sox Foundation making?
The Busyhead Project, named after Kahan’s 2019 album, has raised more than $5.5 million since launching in 2023 with its ultimate goal of making mental health care accessible for all.
At all of the artist’s shows, fans can not only learn more about The Busyhead Project and how to donate, but also how to access resources and contribute to the community. In addition to providing tools to local communities across North America and the UK, the nonprofit seeks to remove stigmas by encouraging conversation about mental health.
One such example is by asking fans at shows to anonymously write down things like “one thing I am really proud of…” or, “I take care of my mental health by…” for a community board.
Kahan reflected on how fans have responded to The Busyhead Project, saying, “You guys are really making a difference, and it means so much to me. It’s going to mean so much to the people that these resources help. So thank you to everybody that donated, everybody that came here tonight.”
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The artist also recognizes the need to support his own touring band and crew. The Busyhead Project has partnered with Backline to provide them access to mental health care through a network of providers, wellness days on tour, and a Mental Health Fund to cover the costs of care.
The Red Sox Foundation is the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox. Since launching in 2002, the foundation has secured more than 6,700 grants with a focus on improving health, education, and recreational opportunities for children, families, veterans, and communities in need.
Learn more about these nonprofits at busyheadproject.org and redsoxfoundation.org.
The benefit concert was sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Cabot Creamery, DNS Capital, Harvey, L.L.Bean, and various Fenway Sports Group limited partners.
Setlist for Noah Kahan at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Nov. 20, 2025:
- “All My Love”
- “New Perspective”
- “Deny Deny Deny” (unreleased song)
- “Everywhere, Everything”
- “Paul Revere”
- “Staying Still” (unreleased song)
- “Homesick”
- “Pain is Cold Water” (solo, acoustic)
- “Maine” (solo, acoustic)
- “Dial Drunk”
- “She Calls Me Back”
- “Great Divide” (unreleased song)
- “Orange Juice”
- “Northern Attitude” (with special guest Niall Horan)
Encore
- “View Between Villages”
- “Stick Season”
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