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Toronto Sun
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Post Malone blows lid off Toronto's Rogers Centre: 'Thank you for opening this f***ing roof'
The show was the only Canadian stop on his stadium tour Get the latest from Mark Daniell straight to your inbox Post Malone performs a medley at the 57th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by George Walker IV / Invision/AP When your first stadium tour has the words 'big' and 'ass' in the promotional materials, you'd better be able to live up to at least one of those expectations. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account So when Post Malone's Big Ass Stadium Tour rolled into Toronto's Rogers Centre on Monday night on his only Canadian stop, the 18-time Grammy nominee made sure his 26-song setlist — and the stage he was belting them out from — were as large as could be. With six studio albums under his belt, including last year's country album F-1 Trillion which landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, Post has rewritten the rules by throwing virtually every genre together — from hip-hop to rock to country, folk and electronica, too — and blending them into one giant musical stew. If there's a lane Post was supposed to stay in, he's long since knocked the guardrails off. If you're coming to one of his shows, prepare to hear everything that's piquing his musical interest and watch him do it with a smile on his face for two hours straight. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Taking the stage in a T-shirt emblazoned with the five faces of members of the Canadian rock group The Band and drinking beer from a red Solo cup, Post early on established that this first stadium tour was going to be punctuated with a battery of pyrotechnics and flames, along with words of gratitude, both for the fans who sold out the stadium and the seven-piece band who backed him up during the two-hour show. Between dropping F-bombs and puffing on one cigarette after another , he repeatedly called his fans ' ladies and gentleman' throughout the night and thanked the crowd for their enthusiastic appreciation between each song. 'I just wanted to say thank you to every single of you motherf****** for making this awesome tonight,' he shared. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Also, the weather gods got some appreciation as well. After an unseasonably cold and rainy month of May, Monday night finally hinted that summer is just around the corner when the Rogers Centre roof opened up (by my count that's the earliest it's been open for a concert at the ballpark). 'Thank you for opening this f***ng roof, ladies and gentlemen,' Post told the cheering throngs. 'Thank you for letting me in this country and thank you for letting me in this building.' As he traversed a long catwalk that extended nearly all the way to second base, Post ran through his hits-laden catalogue, checking off many of his most-loved tracks, gladly accepting hats and smokes from people near the stage and signing autographs during the twangy country of Finer Things . This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. From his infectious Morgan Wallen collab I Had Some Help , which tallied the highest weekly sales and streams since 2020 last summer, to his rousing Pour Me a Drink sing-along to White Iverson , the electronic-pop-rap single that launched his career 10 years ago, to Yours , a sentimental acoustic number that he dedicated to his three-year-old daughter's future husband, Post showed that he was more than up to the challenge of going from filling arenas and amphitheatres to making a 40,000-plus stadium feel like it was a backyard party. Post Malone performs prior to Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024 in Las Vegas. Photo by Jamie Squire / Getty Images The Texas native also reminded attendees that he's still very much at the start of his musical journey. He'll turn 30 o n July 4, Post told onlookers, as he thanked supporters for allowing him to 'chase my dreams.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Already having notched countless multi-platinum certifications around the world, it seems he's already conquered every musical mountain. Surveying his multi-generational fanbase, it's hard to fathom what heights Post will reach in another 10 years. With a big grin on his face, tourmate Jelly Roll underscored how music has given him a sense of belonging that he hoped extended to the crowd. 'All I ever wanted to do was write songs and make people feel like they wasn't alone,' Jelly said during his opening set that included mashups of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Miley Cyrus and Nickelback, as well as his own breakout hits like Save Me . 'Music always made me feel heard.' When the two sang their duet Losers together later in the evening, solidifying their ascent together as two of music's biggest names, Post made a nod to the pair's outsider status and their unlikely rise. He then reminded everyone in attendance that they'll always be welcome at one of their shows, whether it's in a small club or a stadium in Toronto on a Monday night. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And he hopes to see some ambitious hopefuls out there joining him at the top. 'This song is dedicated to anybody out there that's ever felt like they don't quite f***ing belong or anybody who feels like they don't have what it takes to chase their f***ing dreams,' Post encouraged. 'You have exactly what it takes.' Sometimes, the nice guys do finish first. RATING: **** OUT OF 4 mdaniell@ Read More Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances! Ontario Columnists Other Sports Relationships Sunshine Girls
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Post Malone fires up first stadium tour with trusty accomplice Jelly Roll: Review
SALT LAKE CITY – Post Malone and Jelly Roll are a well-matched pair for reasons beyond their mutual face tattoos. They both bounce between rock and country with a little hip-hop thrown in, but they are also two extremely gracious artists, visibly thrilled to be playing a stadium tour for the first time. 'This is the most nervous I've ever been before a show in my life,' a humble Jelly Roll said at the start of his 50-minute set following opener Sierra Ferrell. Post Malone, 29, added his expletive-laden appreciation during his performance, saying, 'I am scared … but the fact that everyone came out means the … world to me.' The April 29 kickoff of their Big Ass Stadium Tour at Rice-Eccles Stadium was a 3 ½-hour genre-agnostic party, with both guys frequently addressing the crowd of about 45,000 with sincere gratitude in between pulling from their cauldron of beer-swilling hits. There is also the possibility that fireworks will be scarce this Fourth of July because Post Malone seemingly used the country's entire supply during his two-hour set, which was as much strobe-light-flashing 'Rockstar' as red-Solo-cup-waving 'Pour Me a Drink.' The noticeably slimmed-down Jelly Roll, 40, clad in black with a massive chain hanging down his chest, also zigzagged through songs, both guttural rock ('Liar') and twangy country ('Lonely Road'), while peppering his set with inspirational patter. Here are some highlights from the opening show: More: Post Malone setlist: All the songs he and Jelly Roll played on their 2025 tour Though he also professed to opening-night nerves, Austin Richard Post didn't indicate he was anything other than a cool cat as the bass drum thump of 'Texas Tea' filled the air and he stood on a ramp with a microphone in his left hand and a (frequently refilled) red Solo cup in his right. In his jeans adorned with a mega-sized belt buckle and white T-shirt bearing the name Ramblin' Rose, Posty – as he's affectionately known – crept down the catwalk in shadowy lighting, frequently crouching to get eye level with fans. But the barrage of fireworks and flames that ended the song injected an unexpected jolt and also set the tone for the rest of his performance. During their respective sets, both artists expressed their mutual admiration, so it was expected that at some point they would share the stage. Post Malone rewarded fans' expectations by calling Jelly Roll back to the stage – which was flanked by a pair of video screens, with two more erected at the back of the stadium floor – for 'Losers,' which they recorded for Posty's country breakthrough, 'F1-Trillion.' The pair sparred vocally on the main stage before taking a stroll down the catwalk together (cue the midsong fireworks) and ending their duet with a tight hug that seemed as much a celebration of their stadium debut as general affection. More: Beyoncé brings Cowboy Carter to life in flawless tour kick off: Review In a set that weaved pedal steel guitar ('Never Love You Again,' which Posty performed with Ferrell) with electro beats and chest-rattling bass ('Go Flex'), a highlight showcased him at his most vulnerable. Standing at the end of the catwalk, the pulsing lights dimmed and stacks of pyro momentarily unseen, the multifaceted singer-songwriter started to strum his acoustic guitar, solo. Of course, he stopped after briefly starting the song to chug another beer and take a drag from his cigarette. But when Post slipped into 'Feeling Whitney,' a ballad rife with lessons about bad decision making, the cavernous University of Utah stadium suddenly felt as intimate as a club as he exposed his emotions. This stadium tour is obviously a testament to the sustained rise of both Post Malone's and Jelly Roll's careers. But more importantly, it's a platform that demonstrates nice guys can finish first. Of course, the man born Jason DeFord is a gregarious host, whether wiggling through 'Get By,' his voice dipping and diving into his growly lower register, or talking to fans like a friend before 'I Am Not Okay' ('It's OK if you're not OK today,' he said). But his set, accented with a backdrop designed to look like a truck stop complete with a neon 'Open' sign, took a playful detour when he and his large band thundered into a medley of cover songs. Jelly Roll often pays homage to Lynyrd Skynyrd with 'Sweet Home Alabama' – as he did on this night – but the segue into Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers' was especially amusing to hear with his gruff voice singing, 'I can take myself dancing.' To further prove his statement that he and Post Malone share a love of every type of music, Jelly and the band tossed in some of Nickelback's 'How You Remind Me' and a nod to Tupac Shakur's 'California Love.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Post Malone, Jelly Roll concert: Review of their Big Ass Stadium Tour
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Afternoon Briefing: How Crosetti Brand is representing himself at trial for child's slaying
Good afternoon, Chicago. Representing himself while he stands trial on murder charges, Crosetti Brand was in the middle of heatedly arguing that he was receiving an unfair trial when the judge stopped him. 'One second,' Cook County Judge Angela Petrone said. 'You don't have to call me 'bro.'' Brand, 39, is charged with murder, attempted murder, home invasion and aggravated domestic battery in a March 13, 2024, attack that killed 11-year-old Jayden Perkins and seriously injured his pregnant mother. During the first two weeks of an expected three-week trial, prosecutors called more than two dozen witnesses, all together painting a searing picture of the killing at the family's apartment in the 5900 block of North Ravenswood Avenue. Brand, though, made the unusual decision to forgo a licensed attorney and launch his own defense — a choice that, at times, has brought an air of peculiarity to the otherwise tense and emotional proceedings. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History As state lawmakers negotiate the first state operating budget since the prison was shuttered, Gov. JB Pritzker's administration is proposing that Stateville receive nearly as much funding as when the maximum security section of the facility was open. Read more here. More top news stories: Man taken into custody after SWAT called to domestic disturbance in McKinley Park neighborhood Sunny conditions expected with highs in the mid-50s over the holiday weekend Buona, the homegrown Italian beef chain that created the red-letter day 10 years ago, officially opened its 32nd Chicago-area restaurant this week in Gurnee, with a co-owned Rainbow Cone ice cream shop tucked inside. Read more here. More top business stories: President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats knock Wall Street, European stocks and Apple lower Existing home sales down, marking worst April since 2009 The Bears completed their first session of organized team activities this week at Halas Hall, with three days of practice offering an orientation to the experience under first-year coach Ben Johnson. Before the Bears return to the field for another round of OTAs next week, here are five observations. Read more here. More top sports stories: Angel Reese scores career-low 2 points in Chicago Sky's 99-74 loss to New York Liberty in home opener Column: George Wendt's 'Super Fans' character endures in a long tradition of on-screen Chicago sports nuts Fourth of July arrived early this year at Wrigley Field. A third of the way into his Big Ass Stadium Tour, Post Malone punctuated his blowout affair yesterday at the ballpark with a recurring blitz of pyrotechnics. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: 'Jane Austen Wrecked My Life' review: Writing and living her own private rom-com Billy Joel cancels all future shows due to normal pressure hydrocephalus The president confirmed that a group of migrants from countries including Vietnam, Cuba and Mexico were stuck in the East African nation of Djibouti on their way to being deported to South Sudan, a location U.S. officials had previously said in court was classified. Read more here. More top stories from around the world: Federal judge blocks Trump administration from barring foreign student enrollment at Harvard 'Today' host Sheinelle Jones' husband Uche Ojeh dies at 45 from brain cancer
Chicago Tribune
23-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: How Crosetti Brand is representing himself at trial for child's slaying
Good afternoon, Chicago. Representing himself while he stands trial on murder charges, Crosetti Brand was in the middle of heatedly arguing that he was receiving an unfair trial when the judge stopped him. 'One second,' Cook County Judge Angela Petrone said. 'You don't have to call me 'bro.'' Brand, 39, is charged with murder, attempted murder, home invasion and aggravated domestic battery in a March 13, 2024, attack that killed 11-year-old Jayden Perkins and seriously injured his pregnant mother. During the first two weeks of an expected three-week trial, prosecutors called more than two dozen witnesses, all together painting a searing picture of the killing at the family's apartment in the 5900 block of North Ravenswood Avenue. Brand, though, made the unusual decision to forgo a licensed attorney and launch his own defense — a choice that, at times, has brought an air of peculiarity to the otherwise tense and emotional proceedings. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History As state lawmakers negotiate the first state operating budget since the prison was shuttered, Gov. JB Pritzker's administration is proposing that Stateville receive nearly as much funding as when the maximum security section of the facility was open. Read more here. More top news stories: Buona, the homegrown Italian beef chain that created the red-letter day 10 years ago, officially opened its 32nd Chicago-area restaurant this week in Gurnee, with a co-owned Rainbow Cone ice cream shop tucked inside. Read more here. More top business stories: The Bears completed their first session of organized team activities this week at Halas Hall, with three days of practice offering an orientation to the experience under first-year coach Ben Johnson. Before the Bears return to the field for another round of OTAs next week, here are five observations. Read more here. More top sports stories: Fourth of July arrived early this year at Wrigley Field. A third of the way into his Big Ass Stadium Tour, Post Malone punctuated his blowout affair yesterday at the ballpark with a recurring blitz of pyrotechnics. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: The president confirmed that a group of migrants from countries including Vietnam, Cuba and Mexico were stuck in the East African nation of Djibouti on their way to being deported to South Sudan, a location U.S. officials had previously said in court was classified. Read more here. More top stories from around the world:
Chicago Tribune
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: Post Malone goes all-in on country in a celebratory Wrigley Field concert
Fourth of July arrived early this year at Wrigley Field. A third of the way into his Big Ass Stadium Tour, Post Malone punctuated his blowout affair Thursday at the ballpark with a recurring blitz of pyrotechnics. Mushroom-cloud fireballs. Shooting flames. Spark showers. Massive aerial fireworks on the level of Navy Pier's summertime displays. No matter that they interfered with the music, they just seemed another way for Malone, whose birthday falls on Independence Day, to express appreciation on a night when gratitude and charisma made the man. It's doubtful any performer who passed through town in recent memory said thanks, referred to the crowd as 'ladies and gentlemen,' or bowed more often in two hours than Malone. Usually, listening to someone repeat themselves and hurt for original banter quickly grows stale. The same rule applies for hearing bromides about chasing dreams and believing in yourself. Yet Malone's deep sincerity and charming, profanity-laden politeness won out. His finest strengths are personality and cordiality, and both were amplified on the stage. Ditto his distinctive appearance, trumped only by a persuasive smile that conveyed an innocence and friendliness somewhat at odds with his braggadocio tales and hedonistic tendencies. It wasn't the only contradiction that fed into Malone's ambiguous presence. 'With his heavily tattooed face, neck and hands, frizzy beard and flashy dental grill, the vocalist cut a highly visible figure who didn't need mobile cameras broadcasting his every move on four screens. Seldom staying on the main platform with his band, Malone maximized the layout of ramps and runways that allowed him to get close to the audience. He strolled and crouched as if hobnobbing with family and friends at a neighborhood barbeque, his casual and unhurried pace conveying a desire to hang out awhile. At one point, he leaped down onto the field to greet a woman celebrating her 70th birthday and wrapped his arms around her in a giant hug. A divide between triumphant celebration and heartbreaking anguish, between party-hard bravado and despondent loneliness, emerged as the most interesting aspect of a concert where Malone negotiated the spaces between his identities as rapper and pickup-driving country boy. He fared best when embracing personal issues rather than pursuing generic constructs and tropes, with the cartoonish 'Rockstar' ranking high among the latter violations. Born Austin Richard Post, the Texas-reared multi-hyphenate emerged during the past decade as one of the mainstream's premier draws. Among the 10 best-selling digital artists in history, he counts 18 Grammy nominations, the first-ever Double Diamond-certified single ('Sunflower') and a 2024 pre-Super Bowl 'America the Beautiful' performance among his list of commercial feats. One reason for his success? Few contemporaries negotiate the art of the crossover with as much visibility and frequency as the 29-year-old New York State native. Keeping tabs on his collaborations requires a ledger. In addition to pairing with fellow hip hop millennials such as Young Thug, Doja Cat and 21 Savage, Malone received invites to sing on the newest records by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Akin to the latter, he became one of the latest pop celebrities to enter into the country-music sweepstakes. He's received plenty of help. Malone's cadre of friends in low places includes Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Dolly Parton and Tim McGraw. All guests on his recent 'F-1 Trillion,' Malone's fifth original LP in six years — a stretch that also witnessed him lead a Nirvana tribute that resulted in him joining the Seattle-based group's surviving members at the 'SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert' special. Any plans for Malone to revisit '90s rock at a live show will wait for another tour. Dressed in a long-sleeve Western shirt, cowboy boots and jeans, and wearing a mix of trucker hats, Malone went all-in on his transition to country on a chilly night where a majority of his body art remained concealed by clothing. Not that he missed a beat in conjuring the sights and sounds of a saloon-style dive bar. Evoking a bygone era when most musicians smoked, Malone puffed on cigarettes between and during songs. He went as far as clutching them between his fingers as he picked the strings of a guitar. The downside? At times, Malone sounded winded. And though he maneuvered around a long stage, watching a dude still in his 20s sit for spells looked out of place. His vices extended to liquor. Drinking from plastic red cups that seemed to him as much of a necessary accessory as his big belt buckle, he toasted the audience and sampled beer handed to him by fans. Recreations of railroad crossings and road signs and a guardrail prop added to the Texas-by-way-of-Hollywood vibe. Malone had mixed results with his forays into Nashville territory. His passable ensemble wisely included a pedal-steel guitarist and violinist, yet the mix muddled their contributions on an abundance of mid- and high-tempo material. The pick-and-grin skedaddle of 'M-E-X-I-C-O' and subdued grit on 'Wrong Ones' stood as exceptions. So did the boot-scootin' boogie of 'Finer Things,' whose refrain went down as easily as the song's polished outlaw twang. Several attempts at retaining hillbilly accents ('Pour Me a Drink' and a duet with opener Jelly Roll, 'Losers') suffered from formulaic approaches that impacted a handful of Malone's hip hop and pop hybrids. While the instrumentalists played on Malone's older fare, they failed to reconceptualize or rearrange it in the manner Beyoncé's country-learned band did for her early work last week at Soldier Field. Indeed, Malone might consider further paring back and letting his voice — less hazy and warbled than on record, particularly on rhythmic rap songs such as 'Psycho' — and words carry the weight. A rendition of the ballad 'Yours' and a solo stab at the dark 'Feeling Whitney' quietly howled with naked emotion, autobiographical elements and Malone's simple guitar lines. Malone found space and smarts on the breezy, hip-swiveling 'I Had Some Help' and neon stomp of 'Dead at the Honky Tonk,' both of which addressed heartache. Other instances, such as the faint insistence of 'I Ain't Comin' Back' and diluted plainness on 'Wow.,' showed how some of Malone's songs have a ways to go before they equal his magnetism. Introducing his breakout hit 'White Iverson,' Malone referenced his awareness that some consider it his lone 'good song.' Tellingly, he used the same phrase to describe the setlist, implying that material he bypassed wasn't up to snuff. At least he's honest. Credit Malone, too, for utilizing the Wrigley environment in an imaginative, notable way. With his band buying time with an extended coda, Malone exited the building before resurfacing across Sheffield Avenue atop one of the rooftops for 'Congratulations.' In a meta moment, the singer simultaneously observed his own concert as a spectator while still shaping its outcome. Descending the stairs, a huge grin washing over on his face and excitement bursting from his voice as he shouted about proving naysayers wrong, an overjoyed Malone transformed into the equivalent of a little kid tearing into gifts on Christmas. Only here, he functioned as both recipient and at Wrigley Field on May 22: 'Texas Tea' 'Wow.' 'Better Now' 'Wrong Ones' 'Go Flex' 'Hollywood's Bleeding' 'I Fall Apart' 'Losers' 'Goodbyes' 'M-E-X-I-C-O' 'What Don't Belong to Me' 'I Ain't Comin' Back' (Morgan Wallen cover) 'Feeling Whitney' 'Yours' 'Circles' 'White Iverson' 'Psycho' 'Candy Paint' 'Finer Things' 'Pour Me a Drink' 'Dead at the Honky Tonk' 'Rockstar' 'I Had Some Help' 'Sunflower' 'Congratulations'
