Noah Kahan Builds 'The Great Divide' With Gabe Simon and Aaron Dessner
Noah Kahan's 2026 album 'The Great Divide' runs to 21 songs including its deluxe edition, the expanded version with extra songs. The record was built with producer Gabe Simon and The National guitarist Aaron Dessner, who described the sessions together in an interview published by Billboard on 1 October 2026. That is a long tracklist for a tight team of three.
Simon is the returning partner. He collaborated with Kahan on 'Stick Season', and Kahan reteamed with him for the new album while adding Dessner as a new producer, according to Billboard. Dessner is a composer best known for his work with Taylor Swift, and he co-produced 'The Great Divide' with Kahan and Simon.
The partnership started with a brief hello. Dessner and Simon first met around the 2024 Grammy Awards. Their second meeting lasted longer. It took place last spring at Dessner's Long Pond studio in upstate New York, where Kahan joined them and the three wrote three songs together.
Dessner had seen Kahan play before that. He watched Kahan at Boston Calling in 2023, with The National scheduled to perform after him. He later played guitar on the 'Stick Season (Forever)' remake of 'Everywhere, Everything' featuring Gracie Abrams.
On 'The Great Divide', the three kept some songs entirely to themselves. Kahan, Dessner and Simon are the sole writers and producers on 'Downfall', 'A Few of Your Own' and 'Lighthouse'. A producer oversees the recording and shapes the final sound, and a sole credit means no other writers or producers were involved on those tracks.
The record moved south to finish. The final stage of production took place in Nashville at Gold Pacific Studios, where Simon often works. The shift finalised material that began at Long Pond.
The opening sequence is already listed. Tracks one through four are 'End of August', 'Doors', 'American Cars' and 'Downfall', in that order. Kahan's official store presents the album as a Standard CD and an American Rust vinyl edition, alongside a digital extended edition titled 'The Last of the Bugs'.
What makes this stand out is continuity. One collaborator knows how Kahan's last era sounded. The other arrives with a different history. For listeners, that points to a record with familiar roots and new company in the room.
