Watch: Noah Kahan’s sold-out Wisconsin concert evacuated due to storms
People in the lawn at the sold-out, 37,000-person-capacity East Troy venue were told to evacuate to their cars due to impending storms.
A sold-out Noah Kahan show at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy on Saturday was partially evacuated due to storms before the folk-pop superstar took the stage.
The show was officially postponed at 10:15 p.m., according to a message on the Alpine Valley Facebook page, with an announcement made in the venue five minutes later. A new date will be announced on the venue’s social media pages, and previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date.
At 8:07 p.m. Saturday, the first announcement was made over the amphitheater’s sound system that due to incoming storms, everyone seeing the show in the lawn “must seek shelter in their vehicles at this time,” while people seated in the covered pavilion were told they could shelter in place.
The announcement caused an uproar – with most people in the lawn not moving as of 8:18 p.m. The weather was still clear in East Troy at that time.
A second announcement was made at 8:29 p.m., but at that time, thousands in the lawn remained in place and the weather remained clear. Then at 8:45 p.m., fans in the lower bowl started singing Kahan songs like “Stick Season” and “Growing Sideways” a cappella, as well as “HOT TO GO!” by pop breakthrough Chappell Roan.
A third announcement was made at 8:55 p.m. “Folks, up in the lawn, again, we’ve got weather coming. Please seek shelter in your vehicle until the storm passes,” a crew member said on stage. About five minutes later the first strike of lightning hit the area, and the lawn started thinning out but thousands remained there as of 9:02 p.m.
Ten minutes later an announcer told people remaining on the lawn to come down in an orderly fashion to the covered seats. Winds picked up rapidly soon after that, and the first rumble of thunder hit at 9:14 p.m., followed by chants of “Noah.” Moments later came the rain and more lightning, which continued at varying intensities through early Sunday morning.
Adding to the complications: terrible phone and internet connections at the packed venue in rural Walworth County.
Ivy Bloomfield and Jillian Myers came to the show from Chicago, and since they didn’t have a car, were struggling to connect with their ride to update them on the show’s status.
“It’s scary,” Bloomfield said about the situation and struggling to connect with their parents due to the poor reception, adding that the situation was “anxiety-inducing.”
Lennon Maher and Avery Tiller from Madison were trying desperately to connect with their parents. They were separated from them at the time of the evacuation order, and since they didn’t have keys to the family car, couldn’t reach their parents over the phone and were concerned they would be stuck in the unsheltered lawn parking when the storm hit, decided to hunker down in their seats. They were able to connect again in their seats around 10 p.m.
About 20 minutes later after the postponement announcement was made, people still in the venue began to leave in the downpour, with the grassy lots drenched and patches of gravel driveways transformed into mud. Cars in one of the lots remained at a standstill waiting for traffic to alleviate, which didn’t begin to happen until about 11:10 p.m. Even after that it was slow going, with Journal Sentinel reporter Piet Levy finally able to get out of the lot at 12:37 a.m. Sunday, almost two hours after getting to his car.
The amphitheater has about 7,500 seats in the sheltered sections closest to the stage, with the vast majority of seating available in the lawn. The amphitheater can accommodate up to 37,000 people.
Folk-pop breakout Kahan was slated to have one of the largest audiences of any artist in Wisconsin in 2024, par for the course for one of the most rapid ascents in recent years, thanks to his breakout album “Stick Season.”
In February 2023 he played a sold-out Miller High Life Theatre in Milwaukee for about 4,500 people – then four months later performed for one of the largest crowds ever assembled for a Summerfest side stage headliner at the Milwaukee festival’s UScellular Connection Stage.
This is the second concert at Alpine this year impacted by bad weather. Dave Matthews Band had to postpone a planned show June 22, part of a two-night stint. It was rescheduled for June 30.
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.