The superstar is on a summer trek in the biggest venues he’s ever headlined
“Post Malone sold this motherfucker out on a Monday night!” Jelly Roll yelled, drawing a loud cheer from the packed crowd at Northwest Stadium on the pair’s Big Ass Stadium Tour. Indeed, Posty and Jelly brought them in droves, proving an overlap between hip-hop and real country is not only viable, it’s lucrative.
Posty kicked off the night with a moody “Texas Tea” that built to a literal explosion on stage. Sky-high fireworks remained a theme throughout the night. Posty doesn’t do anything half-assed on his biggest headlining tour.
Neither does he compromise his band. His guitarist could effortlessly move between hip-hop rhythm (“Better Now”) and traditional country pickin’ (“M-E-X-I-C-O”). Fiddle and steel players remained at the ready, even adding accents to Posty’s older numbers. “Hollywood’s Bleeding” is a standout example of this.
Posty’s stage, too, is a marvel. With a racetrack design that swoops from the upstage band risers to the mega apron extending to the 50-yard line. It was here that Malone spent the most time, jumping up and down, kicking to the beat, cigarette steady in his hand.
There’s a thread that ties hip-hop Posty and country Posty together. It’s his voice. It rings true no matter what he’s singing. You believe a hip-hop riff as much as a country line. Anyone who thinks that Malone is just a factory-made pop star Autotuned to stardom need only look to his NBC performance on SNL’s 50th Celebration with Nirvana at Radio City Music Hall. He more than nailed it, in a way that one simply can’t do without being a once-in-a-generation versatile talent.
Malone showed off his vibrato-tinged voice on an acoustic rendition of “Feeling Whiskey.” Nothing but Malone, his guitar, and a voice soaring high into the Maryland sky. He followed that up with a true country ballad, “Yours,” about his young daughter.
Posty has developed a reputation as one of the most humble stars. That was on display too, as he toggled between rockstar bombast and breathy gratitude, telling the crowd multiple times, “Thank you so fucking much.” He said fuck a lot, but it was charming.
Posty is also open about his artistic insecurity from the stage. He said he’d been performing “semi-professionally” for ten years. And when introducing “White Iverson,” he (only half) jokingly said many think it’s his only “good” song. But most of the night, he let the crowd treat him like the mega-watt artist he is. Whatever energy he put in the crowd, they gave back in multiples.
Jelly Roll kicked the show off with an hourlong set including “Heart of Stone,” “Son of a Sinner,” and of course “Need a Favor.” Jelly’s Pentecostal preacher energy and inimitable voice are infectious. It was clear many were there for him, as thousands were on their feet from the first note. There was also a medley spanning rock, punk, and, of course, country. I can confirm that a stadium of Posty and Jelly fans know the words to “Friends in Low Places.”
In 2003, I reviewed Jelly Roll for the first time, blown away by a Nashville set during CMA Fest. I called it “Don’t judge Jelly Roll by his cover.” I admit here, I had made the same mistake as someone previously only casually aware of Post Malone. My attitude was that he was just a dude with some looped beats, a gimmick, and a killer publicist. NEXT!
Boy was I wrong. And I have a sneaking suspicion Posty was aware of this sentiment held by myself and others: that the machine was masking a faker. That’s why F-1 Trillion is such a masterpiece. Austin Post could step out, showcase his talent, and prove to everyone they had backed the right horse. As a consequence, he drew a bigger, curious audience who bought in totally—including me. And as a result, Post Malone is now a stadium artist. To borrow from that song, I’ll “only say congratulations.”
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