Summer is filled with vacations to exotic destinations, time with friends, and fun. As seen on everyone’s Snapchats during the summer, concerts are a very common activity. In our state, Cheyenne hosts the annual Frontier Days, which includes rodeos and country concerts. This year’s lineup has Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Josh Turner, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, and Tim McGraw as the main acts for several day during the festival. In March, CFD stepped away the country genre and announced Post Malone as one of the opening acts, shocking many across the state.

Post Malone is a popular rapper, singer, and record producer who became a hit on the music charts. It is no wonder that as soon as tickets went on sale, many were in a rush to get tickets. Malone’s concert broke the CFD record for a single day ticket sale and the concert sold out in a matter of days.

The decision of going to Post Malone varies from person to person. Some citizens of Wyoming were able to get a ticket to the concert while others were not fortunate to.

“I am not going because I didn’t get tickets quick enough to have good seats and I didn’t want to be in the back section,” Benny Ortiz, a senior, said.

On the other hand, the music is what brings people to go see Malone.

“I’m going to Post Malone because I am a huge fan and love his work,” Chris Means, a senior, said.

Although Malone is a well known artist in the music industry, there is controversy as to Malone performing at CFD. Some believe CFD should stay a country festival and not branch out to other genres. Others believe that having Malone at CFD brings a better variety for people to see live in concert.

“Yeah I think it’s okay that he performs at CFD because it’s always good to have a variety of options. Yeah it’s a country festival but it’s also the biggest music festival in Wyoming and the biggest chance for many people here to see a concert close to home,” Means, said.

Having Post Malone perform at a country festival shows the crossover of genres that has been seen in music today.

“I think it’s pretty cool that he’s performing at a country festival. Especially with how music today is a break with the norm. Like with Old Town Road being a crossover of hip hop and country. People should be open to hearing new music and artists and not be so close minded to all the music out there,” Ortiz, said.

Not only does bringing Malone to Wyoming mean more variety for CFD, it will also benefit Wyoming in general. Wyoming will see an increase in sales, creating more for the economy.

“Wyoming will benefit from anyone coming out of state to see as it’ll get their money through tax in food and from them staying in local hotels. Wyoming will benefit from every purchase in the area, with every single hotel and restaurant being crazy busy, it’ll rake in tons of tax money. Plus all local businesses will make money from that too,” Means, said.

No matter the reason, having Malone in Wyoming will be a great way for citizens to see one of their favorite artists in concert without having to travel too far.