What happened at Post Malone’s Fenway Park show Wednesday night would have felt like a fever dream just a few years ago.
Imagine the rapper, barefoot with sweat dripping down his tattooed face, howling the chorus of his 2017 smash “rockstar” so intensely that he could be fronting a hardcore band. Now take that scene and deep fry it in all things country. In lieu of trap instrumentals, there were notes of pedal steel and fiddle encircled surges of bass, while thousands of fans in cowboy boots and Stetson hats hollered along, many already wearing tour merchandise covered with images of horses and pickup trucks.
Somehow, this is the same Post Malone who broke into the mainstream with the drowsy rap tune “White Iverson” almost a decade ago, and then doubled down on his hip-hop career with vibrating trap earworms like “Congratulations,” “Candy Paint,” and “Better Now.” And somehow, reimagining those hits with a touch of twang effectively matched the tone of his recent country record “F-1 Trillion” at the Boston stop of his US tour.
Malone closed Fenway’s 2024 concert season with an unapologetic two-hour embrace of his current chapter in country music. Last night’s performance proved his place in the genre — co-signed by two guest artists — even if he’s more of his “own thing” than a figurehead for any one musical style. Keep in mind, the guy also hopped on an ethereal pop number with Taylor Swift this year, although “Fortnight” unsurprisingly didn’t make the cut.
Instead, Malone largely devoted the evening to revving his “F-1 Trillion” tracks, uncorking a whiskey-smooth flow of storytelling and troped-up Western toe-tappers. Malone can be serious when he needs to be; his performance of “Yours,” a song imagining his daughter’s future wedding day, positioned him as a tender father and balladeer. Duets with special guests ERNEST (“Devil I’ve Been”) and HARDY (“Hide My Gun”) affirmed his ability to evoke the same caliber of authenticity as both Southern singer-songwriters.
But flying solo, Malone was a true country charmer, his charisma igniting the pining love song/warning “Go To Hell,” or spurring on a saga like “M-E-X-I-C-O,” which finds the narrator fleeing the US after a string of rapid-fire romances. Dialing up the concert’s drama was a series of impeccably-timed pyrotechnics, some that aligned with the music note for note, but all of which drew the attention of unsuspecting Fenway-Kenmore residents.
“I’ve got a thang for the finer things,” Malone drawled on “Finer Things” in a seamless overlap with a sudden crackle of fireworks, like an opportune brag. During the encore, when Malone tended to his Swae Lee collaboration “Sunflower” (which appeared on the “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” soundtrack), his team set off so many fireworks that it looked like a proper holiday.
And to an extent, it was. As a venue, Fenway Park remains the Boston base for many touring country acts, recently attracting the likes of Zac Brown Band, Kane Brown, Morgan Wallen, and now, Post Malone. Love or hate his current musical direction, Malone has secured his spot among that company.
Last night may have been Post Malone’s first rodeo at Fenway Park, but it likely won’t be his last.
POST MALONE: F-1 TRILLION TOUR
With Muscadine Bloodline and Dan Spencer
At Fenway Park, Wednesday