Post Malone Headlines Cattle Baron’s Ball, The Most Dallas Night in Dallas
The Hometown Hero Says "Congratulations" to The Largest Fundraiser For American Cancer Society in the World
BY Melissa Smrekar //
Post Malone performs at the 52nd Cattle Baron’s Ball. (Photo by Adam Degross)
This Thanksgiving, an estimated 40 million viewers will tune in to watch the Dallas Cowboys play the Kansas City Chiefs (and keep their eyes peeled for Taylor Swift between bites of pie, but enough about me).
The Dallas Cowboys announced that Post Malone will perform during the Red Kettle Kickoff halftime show for that crowd of 40 million. Recently, though, Post Malone performed for the lucky 3,500 people in attendance at the completely sold-out Cattle Baron’s Ball (CBB). As one of them, I can attest to one undeniable truth — Posty has It. Rizz. The sauce. He is a rock star in denim-on-denim and a belt buckle. And he’s ours!
I’ll circle back to our Main Character momentarily; allow me to set the scene first.
The Most Dallas Night in Dallas
Town & Country‘s headline asked, “Was This the Biggest Night in Texas?” I already know the answer. It’s mid-November, but I feel supremely confident calling it now: Cattle Baron’s Ball stands alone as the best party in town. It’s also the most Dallas night in Dallas… even when it takes place just outside of Dallas.
Fittingly, the 52nd Cattle Baron’s Ball once again returned to Southfork Ranch, the iconic home of the fictional Ewing family in the internationally beloved television series Dallas. During his time in the Big D, Post Malone divided his time between two important mansions: Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek and the Ewing Mansion, which served as Posty’s HQ and green room before he took the stage. Oh, to be a fly on that wall!
I imagine Posty, red Solo cup of beer in hand, peeking out the windows of Ewing Mansion and soaking up the sights:
Thanksgiving and Christmas Items
- 3,500 boot-clad partygoers
- a Ferris wheel shimmering against the backdrop of a post-storm, golden hour rainbow
- a cowboy roper lassoing guests upon arrival
- a mechanical armadillo
Surely, he thought, “Damn, it’s good to be home.”
In 2023, Shania Twain headlined the “Iconic”-themed 50th ball that ushered CBB into a new era of stratospheric giving. Those “New Horizons” shone brighter than ever last year when Carrie Underwood took the stage for a night that netted a jaw-dropping $7.1 million for American Cancer Society. (Jesus took the wheel. He thought before he cheated, etc., etc.) Where do we go from here?
Well, 2025 co-chairs Dr. Courtney Derderian and Nina Sachse said: Hold my beer. For the past year and a half, they — and the 100 women who serve as “baronesses” (full disclosure: I’m one of them!) — have been firing on “All Cylinders” to ensure that Cattle Baron’s Ball remains American Cancer Society’s largest single-night fundraiser for American Cancer Society in the world. (Sorry, NYC! Send my regrets, La La Land!)
As guests departed Southfork Ranch last year, a Raising Cane’s food truck slung chicken tenders. As a diehard Swiftie, I’m well-trained in the art of the easter egg. Call it foreshadowing, but the Raining Cane’s truck was not not giving Post Malone. When the big reveal finally happened, the vibe began to emerge. Austin Richard Post. All Cylinders. Black, white, and brown. This year’s Cattle Baron’s Ball felt more rock-and-roll, younger, and edgier. It called for leather or fringe or maybe a faux croc bodysuit, but, again, enough about me!
A week before The Big Night, the forecast looked ominous. Derderian and Sachse, along with powerhouse event designer and producer Kate Fishel of Fauxcades, avoided any potential disaster in the pasture by wasting no time enacting the city’s most impressive rain plan. (Remember when Dallas hosted Super Bowl XLV in 2011 during an ice storm, and chaos ensued? Never would have happened under the watch of baronesses with millions to raise.) They (and sponsor Higginbotham) tented every inch of Southfork Ranch before a drop fell from the sky, and so many pairs of Lucchese and Miron Crosby boots will live longer lives because of it.
The reward? As the ball began, the clouds parted, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Guests arrived via every iteration of shuttle and bus, Alto, and Uber. They were ready to party.
“Somebody Pour Me a Drink!”
Cattle Baron’s Ball activates all 150,000 square feet of Southfork Ranch. I often compare it to a music festival in terms of its expansiveness. Like cruising through the midway at the Texas State Fair, guests enjoy cocktails, food from Vestals Catering (hat tip to the Frito pie station), people watching, and ‘fit checks.
(Editor’s Note: The ‘fits were so fire that I’ll be circling back with a Best Dressed story next week, with exclusive-to-PaperCity photos. Stay tuned.)
However much you see, do, and eat, there will always be things you miss. Get your glam touched up by Mary Kay! Hit the Choctaw Casinos & Resorts Casino while sipping an espresso martini! Pop into the caviar room for champs and a bump of fish eggs! Ride that ULINE mechanical armadillo! Watch the end of your college football team’s game in the Fauxcades Sports Saloon. Oh, you want a cute pic in your fringe mini dress? There are photo ops as far as the eye can see.
The silent auction remains the most compelling one in town. (I’ve never *not* bought something.) The Live Auction commenced when Grapevine Mustang Band (Malone’s alma mater) marched through, firing on all cylinders. I loved it. The best word to describe the Live Auction, sponsored by Pike Electric? I’m sorry, but it’s “electric” (in Travis Kelce’s voice). “Auction-tainer” Letitia Frye should be studied in a college marketing course. She’s a cancer survivor who owns the room, lights it up, and burns it down. The big dogs and high rollers can buy a day of golfing with Dak Prescott or a Parisian fashion show experience with Givenchy (which sold for $200k, cough). Frye always makes the dollars and cents make sense. All of this? It’s for American Cancer Society and the paddle raise for Ceci’s Fund in honor of the beautiful life of Ceci Sanford.
When the live auction concluded, guests moved to the “big tent” for the concert. Our hometown hero (Posty hails from Grapevine) took the stage and captivated the crowd with every hit. (He made the f-bomb downright charming, sorry!!) He clutched a red Solo cup and literally poured his beer into the crowd’s cups during “Pour Me a Drink.” The XYs in the crowd, in particular, were LoViNg the rapper-turned-country-star. He was humble, charismatic, and happy to be there. Happy to be with US. At the end of his more-than-hour-long set, Malone even hyped us up. “You are bad@ss. You are f*cking awesome. And no one can tell you $hit!” he yelled. A video of the moment permanently resides in my iPhone “favorites” folder… and in my heart, rent-free.
Look, I have no notes. “Congratulations,” Cattle Baron’s Ball. You are badass. Keep showin’ ’em how it’s done in the Big D. No one can tell you ____.
PC Spotted: Porschla Kidd, Jessica Nowitzki, Natalie and Mike McGuire, Chris Parvin, Josie and Carl Sewell, Jacqueline Sewell Atkinson, Kimberly Schlegel Whitman, Myrna and Bob Schlegel, Pamela and Mehrdad Moayedi, Frances Moody-Buzbee and Tony Buzbee, Laura and David Piccione, Francie Moody Dahlberg, Laurie Sands Harrison, Jen and Aaron Augustine, Kent Rathbun, Alma and Majed Nachawati, Nancy Nasher, Marc Metrick, Jodi Kahn, Brandie Richardson, and Mary Mcgreevy.
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