"Stick Season" is a song by American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, released as the lead single from his album Stick Season on July 8, 2022. Kahan wrote the song and produced it with Gabe Simon. Although moderately successful in the US upon release, the song went viral on TikTok and charted internationally after American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo covered it on BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom, causing it to reach number one in various countries including Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, as well as charting in the top 10 in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.
Background and composition An early version of the song was performed on a live stream on Kahan's Instagram, broadcast some time shortly prior to November 3, 2020. Kahan wrote a verse of the song during a "bout of insecurity" and uploaded it to TikTok in 2022. It became successful quickly, prompting him to finish writing the song, which "ended up taking a long time". Kahan was also concerned whether a song written "specifically about his home state of Vermont" would connect with people who live elsewhere, but responses to the completed song were universally positive.
The song title refers to a term for autumn in New England, the period after Halloween before the winter snow begins, which Kahan called "a time of transition" and "super depressing" as "it just means that winter is coming soon and it creates a lot of anxiety" and "nobody really likes it".
This song is a folk piece written in A major, with a tempo of 115–118 BPM and a time signature. The chord progression throughout is A–E–Fm–D.
The melody was later interpolated in the chorus to Stella Lefty's 2026 country pop song "Boston", for which Kahan retroactively received a songwriting credit.
Accolades
+Awards and nominations for "Stick Season"OrganizationYearCategoryResult BRIT Awards 2024International Song 2025 Billboard Music Awards 2024 Top Rock Song
Personnel Personnel taken from Stick Season single, and Song Exploder.
Noah Kahan – acoustic guitar, vocals, harmony vocals Gabe Simon – banjo, acoustic guitar/kick drum
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for "Stick Season" Chart (2022–2024) Peakposition Australia (ARIA) 1 Denmark (Tracklisten) 17 Latvia Airplay (LaIPA) 10 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 2 Norway (VG-lista) 11 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 16 South Africa (Billboard) 18 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 15 UK Country Airplay (Radiomonitor)11
Year-end charts + 2023 year-end chart performance for "Stick Season" Chart (2023) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 74 UK Singles (OCC) 60 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 47
+ 2024 year-end chart performance for "Stick Season" Chart (2024) Position Australia (ARIA) 4 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) 6 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 5 Denmark (Tracklisten) 43 Global 200 (Billboard) 10 Global Singles (IFPI) 10 Iceland (Tónlistinn) 59 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 11 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 10 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 8 Portugal (AFP) 114 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 54 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 77 UK Singles (OCC) 1 US Billboard Hot 100 11 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 34 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard) 11 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 4 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard) 30
+ 2025 year-end chart performance for "Stick Season" Chart (2025) Position Australia (ARIA) 69 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 184 Global 200 (Billboard) 173 UK Singles (OCC) 33
Certifications
Release history + Release date and format(s) for "Stick Season" Region Date Format(s) Label Various July 8, 2022 United States December 5, 2023 Contemporary hit radio Mercury
See also List of best-selling singles by year in the United Kingdom List of highest-certified singles in Australia
References
Notes