Jonah Kagen dives into emotions at Top Hat

William Munuoz

(Missoula Current) Jonah Kagen is one of the newer singer-songwriters making their presence felt.  At 25, he is writing about issues many of his generation are feeling; fighting demons of despair that bring a person to a breaking point.

The culture this generation has grown up in feeds these demons - the excessive materialism, the intense negativity of politics and the marginalizing of people all bring on a hopelessness that he addresses in song.

In a 2021 interview with One To Watch, Kagen said, “I wrote 'Broken' to give a voice to the person at their lowest. It is for the person that has chosen to fight their demons on their own, but they’ve reached their breaking point.” It is a cry for a help - a desperate begging for that one person (or people, or thing) to come and pull them out of their own fire.”

He studied psychology while going to school at Cornell University as a way to understand what is happening to people experiencing mental breakdowns. His aim is to produce music that empowers people to know they are not alone and there is hope and that the proverbial ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ is real.

When his Top Hat show was announced earlier this year, I looked into him, having no idea who he was. I was immediately intrigued and made plans to go hear him.  What I did not expect was that the ticketed Top Hat show was sold out.

His popularity stems from his 2.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. It’s a new world finding new music, but what is not new is the need for folk artists to draw attention to the needs of ordinary people and their needs and concerns.

Jonah Kagen is following in this rich history and producing compelling songs.