Something wonderful is happening this summer: a folk singer from Vermont is filling baseball stadiums. Noah Kahan is spending July and August working his way through America's ballparks — Wrigley Field in Chicago, Citi Field in New York, Coors Field in Denver, Oracle Park in San Francisco and more — and tens of thousands of people are showing up to scream every word of "Stick Season" under an open sky.
If you've never done a ballpark show, it's a different animal from an arena night. Here's how to do it right.
Why ballparks hit different
A ballpark concert is a summer evening first and a concert second. The sun sets somewhere around the third or fourth song, the field becomes a sea of phone lights, and the singalongs are enormous — there's simply nothing like 40,000 voices in open air. This is a lineage that runs all the way back to the Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965 — the show that invented the stadium concert — and every ballpark gig since has carried a little of that same electricity. Stadiums built for baseball also have a quirk arenas don't: almost every seat faces the same way, toward what's usually the outfield stage, so the bowl feels like it was made for this.
Picking your spot
You generally have three choices. The field is the closest and the most energetic — check whether it's general admission or reserved seats before you buy, because those are very different evenings (GA means arriving early and standing; reserved means you can stroll in at showtime). The lower bowl along the baselines is the sweet spot for sightlines and comfort. And don't sleep on the upper deck: modern stadium video screens are huge, the sound carries, and the view of the whole spectacle — crowd, lights, skyline — is honestly part of the show. It's also where the best value usually lives.
Know before you go
Gates typically open well before the openers start, and lines at stadium shows move slower than on game days — build in buffer. Bag policies vary by stadium and are usually stricter than you expect, so check the venue's website the day before and pack light. These are open-air shows that generally go on rain or shine, so a light layer beats an umbrella (which most stadiums won't allow anyway). And if you're bringing kids, ear protection is a small purchase you'll never regret.
Timing your ticket
With multiple ballpark dates on the calendar, it pays to compare before you commit. A Tuesday in one city can be a very different proposition from a Saturday in another, and the resale market keeps seats moving right up to show week — which is exactly how fans end up at "sold out" shows all summer long. Browse what's coming through your town on our music page, or see what's happening this weekend if the itch is more immediate.
Summer is short. Ballpark tours are shorter. Go sing at one.
