Five years ago, when Noah Kahan‘s career was just getting started, he got the opportunity to open for James Bay. But in an illustration of how things go in the music business, this July James will be opening for Noah as he plays in two iconic venues: New York’s Madison Square Garden and Boston’s Fenway Park.

The full-circle moment is payback for how much he appreciated James taking him on tour back then. In 2019, Noah told ABC Audio that it was incredible to get the opportunity to tour with James. He called James “particularly gracious and cool,” as well as “the nicest dude ever” — and noted that the “Let It Go” singer was more than happy to give him advice.

“A couple of days into the tour, on like the third show, my voice was hurting me,” Noah recalled. “And I texted him and I was like, ‘Hey, man, my voice sounds awful, dude, any tips?'”

“And he came out into the catering room and … told me all sorts of, like, advice and ideas and how to kinda save the voice,” Noah added. “And we kind of expanded that into a conversation about music in general. So it was pretty cool.” 

Back in February, James joined Noah onstage in London. He wrote on Instagram at the time, “It’s really wonderful to watch him soar and see how far he’s come (and is still going!), proud of you man.” 

In his post, James also included a screenshot of a 2019 tweet from Noah in which he wrote that touring with James was “the most exciting, humbling and magical experience I’ve ever had.”

Noah replied, “Love ya man, couldn’t have asked for a better night. Thanks for believing in me back in the day!”

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