Post Malone Can Do Anything, Including Country

Post Malone picked up the blue Bud Light cowboy hat, one unseen fan’s token of appreciation chucked onto the stage. He coolly placed it on his head without skipping a beat while singing “I Had Some Help” — his and Morgan Wallen’s omnipresent Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper from Post’s forthcoming F-1 Trillion country album. Malone moved so seamlessly that it could have passed as rehearsed choreography. But nothing about Post Malone is calculated. That’s why 1,400 people flocked to his Bud Light-sponsored A Night In Nashville concert at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday night, July 16.

Some slept overnight outside of the venue, some camped out in miniature pools, and some flew from Denmark. All of them sought proximity to Post Malone’s relentless authenticity.

Before the show, Lori Sutton unexpectedly met Malone backstage. Her husband, the Grammy-winning bluegrass/country acoustic guitarist and Nashville session musician Bryan Sutton, played on F-1 Trillion and strummed behind him at Marathon Music Works. Malone’s perpetual humility has impressed Lori. “I just told him, ‘You’re a joyful ray of sunshine,'” she said of their backstage interaction. “Because he is!”

One fan named Jordan recalled discovering Malone as Justin Bieber’s opening act on the 2016 Purpose World Tour — back when Malone’s disruptive Soundcloud rap/trap 2015 debut “White Iverson” was his only mainstream song. She and her friend, who had won tickets from Bud Light’s A Night In Nashville contest, cited Malone’s genuine demeanor as the crux of their longstanding fandom. His first country album release on August 16 will just be icing on the cake. “It’s the cool thing for artists to try to go country right now, but his album will be the one that sticks,” Jordan said.

“Posty!” chants broke out when the lights cut out, and the cheers amplified when Malone casually jaunted on stage, waved, and perched on his chair behind a cooler. The nine-time-diamond-certified star opened with a mesmerizing arrangement of the 21 Savage-assisted “Rockstar,” his first of six Hot 100 No. 1 hits. The rest of his set reasserted that no one so endearingly embodies star power quite like Post Malone, whether it be at the world’s largest festivals or in a setting as intimate as this. (It does not hurt that “ladies and gentlemen,” “yes, ma’am,” or “y’all” occupy a high percentage of his sentences.)

Malone donned a Chateau Marmont camouflage trucker hat, tucked-in Western shirt, carpenter jeans, and cowboy boots. He intermittently took drags from the cigarette affixed to his fingers and initiated a toast with his audience by raising his beer. Malone’s appeal has never been bound to genre, though everything he touches turns to pop — I can confirm that Gwen Stefani danced and fist-pumped to Malone and Blake Shelton’s country duet “Pour Me A Drink” with equal fervency as to Malone’s past crossover staples “Sunflower” and “Circles” — because his signature genre-blending has always resonated as a natural extension of his heart.

After Malone welcomed Blake Shelton to the stage, Shelton proclaimed, “It’s a Post Malone world we’re livin’ in!” before they launched into “Pour Me A Drink” and Shelton’s 2004 Billboard Hot Country Songs No. 1 “Some Beach.” Shelton posed an indisputable claim, but Malone still thoughtfully redirected admiration toward Shelton and his following guests.

Malone also welcomed Joe Nichols, Sierra Ferrell (“possibly the best singer I’ve ever heard in my entire f*cking life”), and HARDY (“one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever met”). He lauded Nichols for “one of the best-written songs” he’d ever heard and enjoyed the hell out of performing Nichols’ 2002 chart-topper “Brokenheartsville.” He played unreleased F-1 Trillion tracks “Never Love You Again” and “Would You Hide My Gun” with Ferrell and HARDY, respectively. He politely, almost sheepishly, asked whether they’d stick around to rip through covers of “Jackson” and “Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die).”

To Lori Sutton’s point, Malone emanated joy throughout the night, even while debuting the sentimental ballad “Yours” dedicated to his two-year-old daughter and foreshadowing how he’ll feel on her wedding day. But singing those classic country covers left him beaming like he was Austin Post again.

Post spent the bulk of his adolescence in the Dallas suburb of Grapevine, Texas. His father, Richard Post, told CBS Texas that Post often played country covers at Napoli’s Italian Café in high school. The lore truly began when a baby-faced, tattoo-free Post wearing an American flag-print collared shirt covered “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and posted it to YouTube under Austin Richard in October 2013.

F-1 Trillion has been framed as Malone’s “pivot” or “transition” into country. That language feels much too abrupt. They say someone’s thirties return them to their formative passions with renewed perspective, and that seemed to play on his mind at Marathon Music Works.

“As of July 4, I’m 29 years old,” Malone told his crowd. “I’ve been doing this sh*t for just about ten years, and I’ll never forget [that] at the beginning, everyone had so much to say. Everyone called me a one-hit wonder — had nothin’ nice to say about me. I just wanted to say thank you to each and every single one of y’all tonight for coming out. Thank you for your love, and thank you for your support over all of these years, ladies and gentlemen.”

Malone paused, giving the impression that he really wanted to get this next part right. He took one last drag from his cigarette and stubbed it out.

“I know that there might be some people out there that might not feel as supported and as loved as you actually are,” he continued. “You are loved more than you f*ckin’ know, ladies and gentlemen. I know it gets f*ckin’ hard, and I know it gets f*ckin’ rough. I just wanted to say I love you so f*ckin’ much. If you ever see anyone that’s going through a hard time, never be scared to reach out and say, ‘Hey, man, I f*ckin’ love you’ and give ’em a big-ass hug. Do whatever the f*ck you want to do in this life and in this world. Express yourself and just be yourself because there’s no one on this planet that’s cooler than who the f*ck you are.”

Malone’s sentiment lingered as he segued into “Congratulations,” his earnestly self-aggrandizing Stoney anthem featuring Quavo. His words held weight because he spoke from experience. He knows the unique freedom found only internally — away from fleeting trend or external pressure. Post Malone trusts what he loves, from beer pong and Raising Cane’s to the Dallas Cowboys and perhaps every human being he encounters. Everybody, including my jealous Uber driver, adores Post Malone, so why wouldn’t they follow him into country? He was at home in Nashville, the heart of country music, because he’s at home within himself.

During Malone’s “I Had Some Help” grand finale, he hopped atop a stack of speakers, shimmied in uninhibited bliss, and waved at his fans in the front row. It was all he could do to wait until the song’s end to jump down to the floor and embrace them. Malone had technically fulfilled his obligation, but that’s not how he operates. He spent the next hour patiently walking down the entire front row to pose for photos, sign cowboy hats (and cowboy boots, bare skin, homemade posters), and passed on even more sincere encouragement. As such, he confirmed the up-close Post Malone they were meeting matched the Post Malone they’d believed they knew from afar.

One Marathon Music Works employee jokingly stated that Malone had a hard out and wondered how long it would be before she could go home. Usually, she said, artists rolling through the venue don’t spend this much time with fans afterward. “He’s just so nice,” she said. All available evidence from Marathon Music Works suggests that, if it were up to him, Post Malone would have cracked open his fifth Bud Light, lit another cigarette, and connected with each person into the early hours of the morning. Fortunately, they can always find him in the music.

Uproxx was hosted for this event by Bud Light. However, Bud Light did not review or approve this story. You can learn more about the Uproxx Press Trip policy here. Check out a exclusive images from the event below.