Taylor Swift x Noah Kahan? He Says Absolutely
At the Time100 Gala, Stick Season star Noah Kahan set his sights on a dream team-up with Taylor Swift — and he’s ready the moment she is.
Noah Kahan went to the Time100 Gala and basically said the quiet part out loud: he wants a song with Taylor Swift. And honestly, based on who they both work with, that wish is not far-fetched.
The Swift of it all
Asked about dream collaborators on Thursday, April 23, the 'Stick Season' singer, 29, didn’t hesitate about Taylor, 36.
'If she was down for it, I’m all about it.'
There’s already a direct line between them: producer-musician Aaron Dessner, 50. He’s part of Swift’s core creative circle and has credits with her across a pile of releases — 'Evermore' (2020), 'Midnights' (2022), 'The Tortured Poets Department' (2024), 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' (2021), 'Red (Taylor's Version)' (2021), and 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)' (2023) — and he’s also worked with Ed Sheeran, Gracie Abrams, Laufey, Florence and the Machine, and Mumford & Sons. That same Dessner just teamed with Kahan on his new album, which makes the Taylor idea feel less like a pipe dream and more like, give it five minutes.
A new record, same Vermont brain, different gear
Kahan’s latest, 'The Great Divide,' dropped Friday, April 24. He thinks of it as the more grown-up sibling to 'Stick Season' (he even dates that one to 2021 here), leaning more introspective while pushing into new musical corners. He credits Dessner with nudging the sound into unfamiliar territory with production touches that stretch what people expect from him — and, yes, he’s clearly having fun experimenting.
Other people he wants to make noise with
He also name-checked Phoebe Bridgers as someone he’d love to team up with — another artist firmly in Dessner and The National’s orbit. Earlier this month (April 15), in a separate chat with Entertainment Weekly, Kahan called Swift an all-time storyteller who connects to her fans in a way most artists don’t, praised how smartly she’s evolved her career, and figured the two of them would probably cook up something beautifully miserable, sonically speaking.
Time100 spotlight (and a very flattering cosign)
Kahan was one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2026 and hit the gala on Thursday. He called the honor surreal and said his imposter syndrome is spiking, which tracks. The class also includes Nikki Glaser, Zoe Saldana, Luke Combs, and Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, among others.
His blurb came from Marcus Mumford, 39, who painted Kahan as the same slightly anxious, very funny guy whether you catch him golfing, backstage, or onstage. Mumford compared Kahan’s songwriting approach — specific scenes paired with classic-leaning melodies — to the best of the 60s folk lineage, arguing that the honesty in those details is why people see themselves in the songs. Translation: not the flashiest person in the room, but the most candid, and that’s the whole appeal.
Quick catch-up
- Event: Time100 Gala, Thursday, April 23
- Noah Kahan: 29; Taylor Swift: 36; Aaron Dessner: 50; Marcus Mumford: 39
- Kahan’s new album: 'The Great Divide' — out Friday, April 24
- Kahan on the album: more introspective, pushes into new sonic territory, with Dessner’s production fingerprints
- Dream collabs: Taylor Swift (top of the list), Phoebe Bridgers
- The connector: Aaron Dessner — longtime Swift collaborator; credits also include Ed Sheeran, Gracie Abrams, Laufey, Florence and the Machine, Mumford & Sons
- Time100 peers mentioned: Nikki Glaser, Zoe Saldana, Luke Combs, Chloe Kim