A damp forecast did little to put a damper on Post Malone Presents: The Big Ass Stadium Tour in Hershey.
The show, held at the Hersheypark Stadium, was beset by a near-constant drizzle. Audiences filed in with ponchos and hats, crowding the stadium gates around 7:30 – likely in an attempt to stay dry in their cars as long as possible.
And yet, the artists couldn’t have been happier to be there.
Both Post Malone and opening act Jelly Roll took many an opportunity throughout the night to thank the crowd for braving the weather.
“I love a good rain show,” said Jelly Roll. “I wasn’t sure if the people of Hershey, Pennsylvania loved a rain show. But y’all showed up!”
Jelly Roll, who also goes by Jason Bradley DeFord, was all too glad to have the opportunity to share “real music for real people with real problems.”
If you’re not familiar with his work: some of Jelly Roll’s songs are just about as depressing as you can get. Take the chorus for “Save Me”:
“I’m a lost cause / Baby, don’t waste your time on me
I’m so damaged beyond repair /Life has shattered my hopes and my dreams”
And yet, while the subject matter of his music is often heartbreaking, Jelly Roll’s performance was anything but. He belted out hits like “Need A Favor” and “Liar” with a clear voice and obvious enthusiasm.
“This is awesome!” he said. “My name is Jason and I’m honored to be here baby.”
Jelly Roll thanked the audience “for putting up with the traffic, putting up with the rain, and paying too much for a beer” to be out enjoying the show.
He also broke up some of the heavier songs in his set with some fun, like covers of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” as well as a medley of songs by Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Sweet Home Alabama”), Nickelback (“How You Remind Me”), DMX (“Up In Here”), Miley Cyrus (“Flowers”) and Wiz Khalifa (“Young, Wild & Free”).
“God bless America, and God bless country music, baby!” he said, after thanking the crowd, with particular mention of veterans and first responders.
Post Malone (also known as Austin Richard Post) hit the stage around 9, and announced “I’m here to get wet with y’all [expletive] tonight.”
“There is no godly force that can stop us from having a good time tonight,” he said to a stadium full of cheers.
Post Malone has an infectious good humor in his life performances, which we’ve seen in Hershey before. It was a positivity that seemed to also include a genuine friendship with Jelly Roll.
And while he is often associated with hip-hop, I once heard his music described as “genre agnostic” – something that was truly on display when he released a country album in 2024.
Malone poked a bit of fun at that shift in direction more than once.
“Tonight we’re going to be playing some old songs, which a lot of folks consider to be the only good ones,” he said, referring to hits like “Better Now” and “Wow.” “But we’re going to play some new ones, too.”
Malone has plenty of country bona fides, by the way – if collaborations with Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift and Noah Kahan weren’t enough to convince you before now.
His renditions of songs like “Wrong Ones” and “Dead at the Honky Tonk” are full of twang and confidence that have made him a natural crossover star.
Malone’s set also lit up the dreary night sky with fireworks and pyrotechnics, the latter being particularly wild during “Rockstar.”
And even if one didn’t care for his music, it’s hard not to like Malone’s charisma, on top of his humility and self-deprecation.
He’d often say things like “let’s see if I can’t [expletive] this up, per tradition” before playing “Feeling Whitney” on guitar, and thanked the crowd again and again between songs for putting up with the rain, and for following his career for the last 10 years.
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