“It’s a little warm out there, ain’t it?” Kameron Marlowe asked Friday afternoon during his performance at the Sand in My Boots festival. “Anybody drinkin’ yet?”

Marlowe got a ready affirmative on both counts, and he wasn’t the only performer to mention the heat. Rapper T-Pain, who played the Dangerous Stage a few hours after Marlowe, was equally emphatic, and he performed well after sunset.

But the blazing conditions of the afternoon did nothing to keep away the biggest May festival crowd that Gulf Shores has seen in years. By that measure alone, Sand in My Boots appeared to have gotten off to a very strong start.

Billed as a one-year takeover of the Hangout Music Festival, Sand in My Boots features a country-oriented lineup and other amenities curated by country superstar Morgan Wallen.

Some features had names referring to Wallen song titles or interests, such as Love Somebody Lane, the new name for the festival’s onsite wedding chapel. The small stage in the courtyard of the Hangout restaurant, previously known as the Mermaid Stage, was now “’98 Braves Park.” In a nod to “Flower Shops,” Wallen’s duet with Ernest, there was even an actual flower shop on the beach.

Other rebranding was a little more generic. Food options included a “Boot Scootin’ Smoothie” stand and “Cowboy Nachos,” for example.

The number of artists and of stages was down compared to the Hangout Fest’s peak years. Massive artist merch stands, including one specific to Wallen, occupied the corridor where fans once would have entered the Boom Stage. But the layout arguably had some similarity to the fest’s early years, when a site plan featuring two big stages and two small ones meant there was little sonic bleedover from one stage to another.

While some Hangout Fest diehards were upset with the shift to a country format, Sand in My Boots sold out the same day tickets went on sale last October. That meant Friday brought something the Hangout Fest hasn’t delivered since before the pandemic: A capacity crowd of 40,000.

If turnout was a little light in the early afternoon, that began to change rapidly around 5 p.m. as the sun sank toward the horizon. The swelling attendance brought energy, but also a level of congestion that Hangout fans hadn’t experienced in a while. At the peak of the evening there seemed to be long lines everywhere – restrooms, bars, concession stands – which did nothing to make it easier for thousands of people to shift back and forth between the two main stages.

The biggest beneficiary of the mass energy was headliner Post Malone, who used a new proscenium on the main Sand in My Boots Stage to put himself in the middle of the crowd. Backed by a large band and a lot of pyrotechnics, Malone ranged through a catalog that includes hits in a variety of genres, including mainstream pop (“Circles” and “Sunflower”) and country (the more recent “I Had Some Help”). He made a point of thanking fans repeatedly through the show for giving him the support that allowed him to carry on chasing his dream. “It’s the most amazing feeling in the world and I’m the luckiest man alive and I just wanted to say thank you so very very very very much,” he said.

Sure, he might also have told them that “it means the world that y’all came out and spent the night with us, ladies and gentlemen, in Pensacola,” but the geographic flub was overshadowed by the joy of the moment. And his self-deprecating streak made it easy to laugh with him. “I came here tonight to play some sh–ty music and party a little bit while we do it,” he said, to cheers.

The festival continues through the weekend. Saturday brings main-stage performances by Alabama country artists Ella Langley and Riley Green, with Brooks & Dunn headlining. There’s also a slate of noteworthy rap acts on the Dangerous Stage: Moneybagg Yo, Three 6 Mafia and 2 Chainz. Wallen closes things out on Sunday, after a slate that includes Wiz Khalifa, Future Islands, Ernest and the War on Drugs.

For full event information, visit www.sandinmybootsfest.com.