Post Malone closed out day one of the festival as the true rock star that he is. As someone who's never been big on the rapper, he immediately turned me into a fan Friday night. With a red solo cup in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other, I was wary of whether he'd actually deliver a good performance. But his passionate nighttime set eventually convinced me otherwise. "My name is Austin Richard Post, and I've come to play some sh*tty f*cking songs for you guys," Malone announced over the mic, as fans loudly chanted "Posty" back at him. He opened up with an explosive performance of "Wow." before running through more crowd favorites like "Circles," "Better Now," "Saint-Tropez," and his newly released single "Cooped Up" featuring Roddy Ricch. That night, Malone set the stage on fire — quite literally — putting all my doubts about him to rest.
Phoebe Bridgers also offered another unexpected surprise Sunday evening. However, it wasn't her performance that had me at a loss for words, but rather a moving story she shared with fans. "So I had an abortion in October because I didn't want a baby. I didn't even think about it," she said. "I found out I was pregnant, and the next day, I had an appointment. And I still had to walk through picket signs of people screaming at me, and I live in California. So I can't imagine what you guys are going through right now. My heart goes out to you." The "Sidelines" singer recently opened up about her abortion following the SCOTUS's leaked Roe v. Wade opinion, but her message for Sunday's crowd was way more personal than I expected her to be. Following her story, fans gave Bridgers some encouragement as she performed "Chinese Satellite."
