Over the last two years, Post Malone, who first rose to stardom as a SoundCloud rapper, has been increasingly venturing into country music, earning him enough recognition to close out one of the most prominent country music festivals.
On Sunday, April 26, he wrapped up the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, but there seemed to be a notable gap between his first appearance at the event in 2024 and his appearance as the event’s last headliner.
Post Malone took the Mane Stage in a Canadian Tuxedo (denim on denim), with the usual cheerfulness and happy-to-be-here attitude he’s made signature to his personality and collaborations. He cracked open a Bud Light, asking fans if they were thirsty, and then went into his song “Pour Me a Drink.”
Much like his first Stagecoach appearance in 2024, his set featured several covers of country songs, showcasing his love for the music genre. He opened with a cover of Craig Morgan’s “International Harvester,” and other covers in his performance included Garth Brooks’ “Rodeo” and Frank Joseph Myers’ “I Swear.”
While these were excellent nods to some country music greats, they didn’t carry the same weight as the first time he performed at the festival. In 2024, he gave an electrifying star-studded performance that felt like country hit after hit, with special guests Dwight Yokham, Sara Evans, and Brad Paisley, who stuck around for Vince Gill and Alan Jackson covers.
This time around, Post Malone used his headlining set to spotlight up-and-coming artists like Braxton Keith and Jake Worthington, which is admirable for someone who himself was welcomed by established, prominent acts such as Morgan Wallen and Chris Stapleton. Shaboozey also joined him for “I Had Some Help,” but had only a line or so and was drowned out by the fireworks.
Overall, the special guests didn’t carry the heavyweight star power one would expect of a headliner. Fans might’ve preferred Posty bringing out Wallen or any number of artists featured on his 2024 country release, “F-1 Trillion.” His set featured only three songs from that album, significantly fewer than his Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival headlining set last year.
If at any point, his headlining Stagecoach performance seemed like the best time to bring out more country artists or, at the very least, lead with his own country music, he’s produced. As a whole, the set didn’t seem to strike a balance in either territory and was less lustrous than his performances over the last two years at Empire Polo Club.
Right before Post Malone closed out, Hootie & the Blowfish made their debut at the festival. Frontman Darius Rucker has performed at the festival before, but this time the Blowfish joined him on the Mustang stage, which drew one of the largest crowds of the day.
The band, known for striking a chord between pop and rock with a country tinge, performed a mix of original music and covers from some of rock’s best. Some of the group’s original tracks that made it into the set included “Let Her Cry,” “Hold My Hand” and “Only Wanna Be With You.”
Covers included REM’s “Losing My Religion,” Led Zeppelin’s “Hey Hey What Can I Do,” Kool & the Gang’s “Get Down On It, Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” and before the set ended, inviting Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Flavor Flav to join them and perform “Fight the Power.”
The Mustang stage also included ’90s rockers Third Eye Blind, who drew the largest crowd among the other rock bands featured on the revived stage. Third Eye Blind performed a mix of hits from their first two albums, including “Never Let You Go,” “Graduate,” “Jumper,” “Semi-Charmed Life,” and “How’s It Gonna Be.”
Before Third Eye Blind, The Wallflowers performed a mellow set with the sun hitting the Mustang stage just right. The group performed hits such as “Three Marlenas,” “6th Avenue Heartache,” “One Headlight,” and a cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “The Waiting.” While the performance was the softer of the rock acts this weekend, the set served as the perfect moment to take a breath of fresh air on the last day of the festival.