Back in January, when Bonnaroo unveiled its roster for this year, Machine Gun Kelly was the only name that brought out the most moans – at least on social media and message boards.
What for? People who saw him on the What Stage undoubtedly had an image of him that was similar to what we saw when he stumbled onto the stage: a slender, bleach-blonde man with black sunglasses, a studded choker around his neck, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
In The Final Moments Of Bonnaroo 2022, Machine Gun Kelly Goes All Out!!
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for 32-year-old Colson Baker to shed that contrived skin and give it his all on Bonnaroo.
With influences ranging from pop-punk to nu-metal, and traditional hard rock to pop-punk, it’s little wonder he’s become so successful in the past 15 years. After the opening one-two punch of “Born With Horns” and “God Save Me,” his spectacles came off, and his smiling grin was undeniably real.
“It feels like home right now,” he said. “I f***ing love that you came to watch our set in this hot weather.”
New Found Glory’s “Drunk Face” is one of their most popular songs. He jumped off the stage and ran down the barricaded route, climbing onto the camera scaffolding to sing it. A Lil’ Wayne parody was brought on stage for him to hold onto while the rapper’s song “Ay!” was played, and he eagerly demanded that it be brought on stage for him to do so.
As well as an expertly assembled backup band, there was guitar wonder Sophie Lloyd, who only joined the group last month but is already stealing the show. And it seems that Baker insisted on bringing as many of his stage props (usually utilized in arenas) to the What Stage as possible. Two enormous inflatable figures, a wall of scattered televisions, and a pink helicopter were all part of the display.
“…Bonnaroo was very upset that we brought (it) in here,” he said to the mob. “But I was like, ‘I ain’t comin’ without the pink chopper.”
As a token of Megan Fox‘s affection for the state where she was born, he passed along her greetings. “Lonely,” a song dedicated to his deceased father, prompted him to wish him a happy Father’s Day in the skies.
Although “My Ex’s Best Friend,” his biggest song, was unavoidable, MGK finished with the melancholy “Twin Flame,” capping the show with a dramatic crescendo.
Since 2011, Machine Gun Kelly, a Cleveland rapper known for his lightning-fast delivery of rhymes, has gone from self-releasing mixtapes to partnering with big record labels. He went on to become a worldwide sensation after that, with each of his albums reaching the top ten of the charts.
With Travis Barker‘s production of Tickets to My Downfall and his work with Eminem, the high-powered lyrics of his early albums, such as Hotel Diablo, changed into a more driving, emo-rock sound. This led to a film career, a reality show appearance, and even a dispute with Eminem. Mainstream Sellout, Barker’s sixth studio album, was released in 2022.
