On Friday, March 6, fans packed into Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, AZ, for a sold-out stop on Jonah Kagen’s tour celebrating his most recent album, Sunflowers and Leather. Long before doors opened, the line stretched down the street, some fans having arrived more than three hours before doors, eager to catch the singer-songwriter midway through his 32-date run across the U.S. Anna Graves joined Kagen as direct support for this evening. 

Alt-folk artist Anna Graves kicked off the night, instantly winning over the crowd with her storytelling, humor, and beautiful vocals. The singer-songwriter shared stories of growing up on a farm in Minnesota and how her experiences during her upbringing shaped the music she creates today. She joked that all of her songs are about horses, birds, or heartbreak, and that she has to be careful about writing too many songs about horses or she’ll be “a weird horse girl,” and she insists she’s “a cool horse girl.” 

Graves performed her newest release “Ashes & Smoke,” which she described a song for her heart, as well as an unreleased track called “Granted,” a song about a situationship who ghosted her, only to post engagement photos a week later. The story garnered a huge reaction from the crowd, many of whom seemed to relate to the story. The vulnerability in her storytelling was refreshing. Although the room was packed shoulder-to-shoulder, the whole performance felt like a conversation with a friend. 

By the time she reached the closing stretch of her set with “Hollow Bones,” “Bluebird,” and a song about her home state titled “Minnesota,” the crowd was fully engaged, even singing along when she taught them the chorus. After wrapping her set, Graves stayed to chat with fans, signing autographs and posing for photos near the stage. 

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When Jonah Kagen finally took the stage with his band, the reaction from the crowd was immediate and loud. The singer-songwriter, who created much of Sunflowers and Leather while traveling across the country in an Airstream during a turbulent chapter of his life, greeted the Phoenix audience with the kind of self-aware humor that has become part of his stage persona.

The singer-songwriter kicked off the night with “Simon,” which was met with a loud declaration of “I love you!” from an audience member as the song wound down. Kagen took a moment to share with the audience how he learned to respond to such a statement after a situation in which he jokingly responded with “I love you, b*tch,” something he immediately recanted, only to receive a DM later saying the “I love you” had come from a mother and her young child, who had been taken aback by his response and were hoping everything was okay in his head. Kagen has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth when he is anxious, and stories like this were woven throughout his set, each met with laughter from the crowd and adding to the candid, slightly chaotic, but deeply human charm that made his performance feel personal and genuine.

Kagen continued on with “The Reaper,” “Candy Land” — a track he described as sounding like it would be happy, but very much is not — and my personal favorite track, “You Again,” which got an unhealthy amount of airplay in my home last year and was a top contender for my most played song of the year. He then opened up about the tumultuous relationship that inspired much of his songs, sharing his experience of moving for a girl and strongly discouraging the audience from doing something similar, before moving into the track “Matches.” Along the way, Kagen praised the Phoenix crowd for their enthusiastic call-outs, joking about how in another city someone had yelled, “Yeah, Noah!” and how he’d “mooched so many fans off that guy.” When someone jokingly shouted out a request for “Stick Season,” he teased the crowd, showing the playful, interactive side that keeps his shows so engaging.

As he moved into the stripped-down portion of the set, a fan showed Kagen that she had his handwritten lyrics tattooed on her arm, which prompted him to share how people often ask him to draw something for them to have tattooed. He explained that that’s not the type of creative he is, so there may be quite a few people out there with his stick figures permanently decorating their bodies. Kagen and the band sat, lit by a single spotlight, as they played “Black Lung” and “Anvil,” bringing the room to a near hush as the crowd listened closely to the raw, intimate performances. The band then exited the stage, leaving Kagen alone with his guitar to take a couple of requests from the crowd. When asked what they wanted to hear, voices nearly unanimously called out for “Krissy,” a song written for his mother, who he explained has a “crazy story.” The lyrics hit hard as the audience listened intently, the room growing even quieter as the emotional weight of the song settled over the crowd.

Kagen’s band returned to perform his newest track, “Talkin’ About Jesus,” which he explained was about a bad date, along with “The Roads” and “Save My Soul.” During “Save My Soul,” the audience poured all their energy and passion into echoing “Save my soul!” after each of Kagen’s calls of “Save me!” The set closed with the powerful “God Needs the Devil,” prompting a roar from the audience as Kagen and his band left the stage. The inevitable encore chants followed, and Kagen soon returned to perform the album’s title track, “Sunflowers and Leather,” and officially wrapping his set with “Burn Me.”

Overall, the set leaned heavily on the emotional depth that defines his songwriting, striking a thoughtful balance between humor and vulnerability. Between candid stories and heartfelt performances, the night felt both personal and immersive, leaving the crowd connected not just to the music, but to the moments shared throughout the show. With the Sunflowers and Leather tour continuing through the end of March across the U.S., fans won’t want to miss the chance to experience these memorable performances for themselves. Each stop will no doubt bring the same blend of raw honesty, humor, and deep connection. Purchase tickets here.

Remaining Tour Dates

March 10 – West Hollywood, CA (low tickets)
March 12- San Francisco, CA (low tickets)
March 14- Portland, OR (sold-out)
March 15- Seattle, WA (sold-out)
March 17- Spokane, WA (low tickets)
March 18- Boise, ID (upgraded venue)
March 20- Salt Lake City, UT (low tickets)
March 21- Boulder, CO (sold-out)
March 24- Kansas City, MO (sold-out)
March 25- Fayetteville, AR
March 27- Dallas, TX (low tickets)
March 28- Austin, TX (sold-out)

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