One of the greatest things about Post Malone is his personality. In concert, he exudes a certain stoned, goofy charm and comes across as a likable guy who appreciates every bit of success he’s earned.
Turns out his current tourmate Jelly Roll shares those same qualities. After an opening set from Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Sierra Ferrell on Tuesday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the man born Jason DeFord spent much of his fiery hourlong set grinning. Between songs, he bellowed at the sold-out crowd in a manner that was part motivational speaker, part Southern preacher.
“We did it baby,” he yelled after his 2024 hit “Liar” and proceeded to list all the previous local venues he has played: First Avenue, Cabooze, Skyway Theatre and the Armory.
Jelly Roll attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on September 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
After toiling around in the underground hip hop scene for a decade, Jelly Roll broke through in a major way in 2022 with first foray into country music, “Son of a Sinner.” In the time since, he’s been nearly inescapable, from his string of smash singles that get played across multiple formats to the run of commercials in which he stars (Zevia, Uber Eats, Bud Light). He was also the first musical guest of the 50th season of “Saturday Night Live” and has become a regular on the awards show circuit.
Jelly Roll’s growl of a voice is divisive for sure, but Wednesday he used it to power through his hits with a religious zeal. His Machine Gun Kelly collaboration “Lonely Road” (which he mashed up with John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”), “Hard Fought Hallelujah” and the set-ending “Save Me” had the crowd howling with approval.
Post Malone, or Austin Post to his mom, opened his first-ever local stadium show with four songs that sounded like they could have come from four different acts: “Texas Tea” (goth rock), “Wow” (stripped-down hip hop), “Better Now” (pop) and “Wrong Ones” (country). The latter was the first of several selections from “F-1 Trillion,” his sixth and most recent album as well as his swing into Nashville’s territory.
Country music tends to be wary about would-be crossover acts, but the industry has embraced Posty to the point that the record features guest vocals from some of country’s biggest stars, including Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton, Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton. His openers also appear on the album and Tuesday night, Ferrell joined him for the tender “Never Love You Again” and Jelly Roll sat in for the twangy “Losers.”
At two different points during the show, Posty mused to the crowd about his impending 30th birthday coming up in July as well as his decade in the business. A key reason he’s lasted that long is his willingness to take chances. That, and the fact his audience follows right along.
The packed house kept focused on the main attraction throughout, whether he was airing old bangers like his 2015 breakthrough “White Iverson” or crooning more recent stuff like his Morgan Wallen collaboration “I Ain’t Coming Back.” If Posty wants it, he’s easily got another decade or more in him.
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