CINCINNATI — Tens of thousands of fans will pack inside Great American Ball Park Wednesday for a sold-out Noah Kahan concert amid a scorching heat wave.
Here is what to know if you plan on attending.
According to a ballpark spokesperson, attendees are allowed to bring two sealed plastic water bottles per person and small battery-powered fans to the concert, a part of Kahan's "The Great Divide Tour 2026."
Kahan, who released a new album in April, is touring with Gigi Perez, a singer-songwriter whose hit "Sailor Song" went as high as No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
WATCH: Noah Kahan's sold-out show will be a hot one. Here's how you can stay cool
Gates open at 4:30 p.m. with the concert scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. for the July 1 show. The day of the concert coincides with a sizzling heat wave resulting in heat index values that could climb near 105 degrees.
With a heat advisory in effect, a ballpark spokesperson said anyone attending is encouraged to hydrate before the show, wear light-colored clothing and apply sunscreen. Great American Ball Park also features cool water vapor misting stations to mitigate heat impacts and medical staff on site to tend to any emergencies.
"Consider a heat advisory or heat emergency the same way you'd consider a snow emergency—you really want to be thoughtful," Dr. Steve Feagins, medical director for Hamilton County Public Health, said. "Heat stroke is like a stroke. Heat stroke is when your brain has given up and you're starting to really just shut down."
Feagins said the earliest warning signs of heat illness are often overlooked.
"When you start to feel confused, when you start to feel lightheaded, that's when you know that you're progressing toward heat stroke," Feagins said. "The biggest symptom is you're starting to just not feel right, or kind of confused or dizzy, and people don't realize that's (the beginning of) heat illness."
Those experiencing heat illness, which if left untreated could lead to heat stroke, may be tempted to take drugs like ibuprofen of acetaminophen, since symptoms often feel like a fever, Feagins said, but it's important not to.
"Heat illness is not fever, and so whatever you do, don't take Tylenol or acetaminophen," he said. "Because that can make things worse. There's also some medications for folks that may be taken like blood pressure medicines or other medicines that can actually accelerate that progression from heat illness to heat stroke."
If you plan to drink alcohol at the concert on Wednesday, Dr. Feagins said to keep in mind it can accelerate the progression from heat illness to heat stroke too.
"If you are drinking the occasional beer, make sure you drink plenty of water between those beers," he said. "Make sure you hydrate even more when you're drinking alcohol, because it can dehydrate you and also make you impaired to the symptoms of progression from heat illness to heat stroke."
More than 40,000 fans are expected to attend the show. Feagins said the danger with packed outdoor venues is less about the people around you and more about the environment.
"In a big stadium, the biggest part is you don't have shade. The other part is you may be sitting on seating that may actually magnify the heat," Feagins said. "(It's) the lack of shade, lack of breeze, lack of wind, lacks of things that can dissipate the heat."
He said anyone at an outdoor events should locate the cooling stations before they need them, just like you would locate emergency exits.
Another way to stay cool in extreme heat is getting a hold of a handheld portable fan.
"The little portable fans that make you look like a geek, they really do work. Any kind of fan causes some dissipation of the heat, especially around your face," Feagins said.
