Post Malone and 21 Savage on Tour in Raleigh NC
This past Friday night Post Malone brought his tour with 21 Savage to Raleigh NC. So are you "Better Now" after spending a rainy and humid Friday evening at the Coast Credit Union Music Park with Billboard's #1 artist in the world? Read further for our thoughts and photos from the concert.
As I mentioned, Post Malone is the number one artist in the world right now and his new album Beerbongs & Bentleys continues to be the number one album in the world; so it is no surprise that his current tour with 21 Savage and SOBxRBE is selling out night after night, the Raleigh show included.
If you are anyone with internet, teenage children, teenage grandchildren, or ears; you've probably heard of Post Malone. His music and his name are everywhere and this is someone that no one had any idea about just a few years ago. The 22-year old artist/producer found fame basically overnight with his single "White Iverson" and it has been non-stop since. His debut album Stoney peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 but his down-to-earth personality and diverse blend of rap and rock styles has really grabbed the attention of his millions of fans.
There is no question that Post Malone has built an empire off of talent for writing music, but does his sold out live show live up to the hype of his music? Well lets start with the acts that he brought along on this tour to open for him.
I have not been to a lot of rap/hip hop concerts, but I have been to enough to know that SOBxRBE put on an extremely lack luster show. Their set began with a 15 minute DJ/hype set, and to be completely honest, I thought the DJ was SOBxRBE. Then after some time, three individuals walked out onto the stage to give a performance that could take the award for the most "I have to do this" performance I think I have ever seen. At the end of their performance they just walked off stage like they couldn't leave fast enough; no wave to the crowd no "thanks for coming", nothing.
To continue the theme of the night, so far, 21 Savage also gave a surprisingly unenthusiastic performance. The Atlanta rapper spent his entire set pacing back and forth on the stage, it is almost like these artists don't enjoy performing the music that they've written. Despite the lack of energy and enthusiasm on stage, the crowd was still into the music. Looking out over the sold out crowd of 20,000 people, there were cellphone lights shining and hands in the air moving along to the music, I hope these artists get some kind of enjoyment of seeing this every night.
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So with such an uneventful opening to the show, the bar was set pretty low for Post Malone. He came out onto the stage to a roaring crowd fronted by a first row of all girls letting out ear piercing screams. As Post Malone took the microphone from the mic stand in the center of the stage, he introduced himself by his actual name Austin Post and went right into one of his new songs "Too Young"; following that up with another new song "Better Now". These new songs are part of the new album that saw nearly 79 million streams in the first 24 hours that the album was available on Spotify.
Unlike his opening acts, Post Malone used the stage to really entertain the crowd. He interacted with the fans in the first few rows and did more than just walk back and forth.
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After a couple song, Post took a breather and admitted to the crowd that he was feeling a little under the weather but came to have fun with everyone anyways. From his voice, it was obvious he was not feeling his best and I commend him for continuing to put on the show. Many major artists are told to cancel shows when they're sick or they make the decision to cancel shows as to not have people think they sound terrible.
Halfway through the show, he slowed things down to really show off how much a musician he was. He picked up an acoustic guitar and played a few songs while playing guitar. This is something that sets Post Malone apart from other rappers and why many wouldn't even consider him as just a rapper and he is known for having very expansive music tastes from rap to metal. At smaller shows this year, he has performed covers of rock songs with his guitar but on this night it was only his own songs.
Overall, Post Malone's performance was much more entertaining than the rest of the artists that performed on this tour and I don't know if I have ever seen a crowd so invested into the music as were the 20k people at this show in Raleigh. From front to back the entire crowd, no exaggeration, would jump along to the music and raise their hands in the air when instructed. His music is catchy and actually really good for an industry and genre littered with the same kind of "built for success" music and artists. His new album Beerbongs & Bentleys is available now and can be streamed online with any of the major streaming services. The current tour with 21 Savage continues through the end of June where it will end in San Francisco, remaining tour dates are as follows:
May 23 — Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier at Penn's Landing
May 24 — Boston, MA @ Xfinity Center
May 26 — Darien, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
May 27 — Toronto, ON @ RBC Echo Beach+
May 29 — Detroit, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
June 2 — Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
June 5 — Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion
June 6 — Indianapolis, IN @ Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn
June 10 — Atlanta, GA @ Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
June 14 — Dallas, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
June 15 — Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman+
June 16 — Austin, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater
June 19 — Phoenix, AZ @Rawhide Event Center
June 21 — San Diego, @ CA Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU
June 22 — Las Vegas, NV @ Park Theater at Park MGM
June 24 — San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre*
* SOB X RBE not supporting
+ 21 Savage not supporting
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