Noah Kahan's been having strange problems lately. Recently the folk-pop sensation was a bit weirded out by Kidz Bop's cop-friendly cover of his song "The Great Divide." Now, he's asking his fans to stop stealing his hometown's road sign.
Alger Brook Road in South Strafford, Vermont is mentioned in his song "The View Between Villages," and fans want a souvenir. The incidents were reported in The White River Valley Herald yesterday: "Another Alger Brook Road sign has been stolen. Assuming it was a Noah Kahan fan, his mother Lauri Berkenkamp offered to pay for the replacement and to ask Noah to 'post something asking his fans to knock it off.'"
And post something he did. On his Instagram Story today, the musician — who's currently on sold-out The Great Divide Tour — 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. To Strafford folks or select board members, please get in touch with me or my amazing mom, and i will pay for any replacements and hear out any potential solutions you can think of. I'm really sorry you're dealing with this.
Again, to my fans: This community has grown much larger and for that reason I feel I should again remind you all about how deeply protective I am over my family's privacy, and of the sanctuary of where I am from. Please don't disturb these places or people.
"Kahan fans are frequent visitors to Strafford, which Kahan has made a big part of his music, and most all are very respectful and fun for residents (especially Melvin Coburn) to interact with," the Herald also noted in that article. Melvin Coburn's Coburn General Store appeared in the "Stick Season" video, and Melvin and his wife Sue had a spoken cameo in the extended version of "The View Between Villages" from Stick Season (We'll All Be Here Forever). Coburn General Store had been run by their family since 1977, but Melvin retired last year and it came under new management, so you'll have to find him in town.
