Noah Kahan has issued a public plea to fans to stop stealing the street sign immortalized in his 2022 song “The View Between Villages.”
The 29-year-old folk-pop artist shot to fame singing about his New England upbringing on his third studio album, Stick Season. On the record’s final track, Kahan sings about the nostalgic and complex feelings of returning home as an adult. “Passed Alger Brook Road, I’m over the bridge,” he delivers in the chorus. “A minute from home, but I feel so far from it.”
The reference to Alger Brook Road in his hometown of Stratford, Vermont, has apparently prompted some fans to repeatedly remove the street sign, disrupting locals.
Addressing the illegal behavior Friday in an Instagram Story, Kahan wrote: “To fans traveling to the upper valley, I’ve been informed that the Alger Brook Road sign in Strafford has been repeatedly stolen. It is a total disrespect to the folks who live on that road and a headache for the town to deal with.
“I used to live on Alger Brook. I hate that because I put the road name in a song that some people have taken that as an invitation to disrupt the lives of the hardworking and kind folks who frequent it,” The “Northern Attitude” singer continued.
“To Strafford folks or select board members, please get in touch with me or my amazing mom,” he said, promising he would “pay for any replacements” and is open to hearing “any potential solutions you can think of.
“I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this,” Kahan added. “Again, to my fans: This community has grown much larger and for that reason I feel l should again remind you all about how deeply protective l am over my family’s privacy, and of the sanctuary of where I am from. Please don’t disturb these places or people.”
Stealing street signs is considered a criminal act and is often classified as misdemeanor theft or the destruction of public property.
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The two-time Grammy-nominated artist recently dropped his fourth studio album, The Great Divide, in April. The 17-track record was released alongside the Netflix documentary Out of Body, which documents his creative process for writing and recording the album.
The album has been well-received by critics and listeners alike, with Pitchfork’s Hannah Jocelyn hailing it as “well-crafted.” Singling out the title track, Jocelyn declared that it is “too well-written to dismiss as another [Sam] Fender knockoff.”
Four of the album’s songs — “Orbiter,” “Doors,” “The Great Divide” and “Willing and Able” — are currently among Kahan’s most popular songs on Spotify. In fact, the first three have pushed his viral “Stick Season” hit down to fourth place.
