CLEVELAND, Ohio – Singer-songwriter and rapper Colson Baker painted the town red this weekend.

Then he went ahead and painted it in his signature pink for good measure.

The Cleveland native known as Machine Gun Kelly (now down to the ever-so-brief “MGK”) delivered the goods on his third installment of what’s now an “MGK Day Weekend” and fans came out in droves to soak up his kinetic energy. They couldn’t get enough of it all.

Crowds by the thousands were buzzing all weekend long, starting Friday with a sold-out show at Jacobs Pavilion on the West Bank of the Flats and a Vegas-style after-party at FWD nightclub on the East Bank across the Cuyahoga River.

MGK was in a celebratory mood, promoting the release of his latest album, “Lost Americana,” which came out Friday.

The party continued Saturday, with fans flocking to “Now That’s What I Call Brunch” at 27 Club coffee in the Flats before heading to the Cleveland lakefront for the electrifying “Street League Skateboarding” takeover at North Coast Yard.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame got in on the action, hosting a free “Lost Americana” pop-up store, while fans capped the evening with an MGK-themed bar crawl weaving through the Flats and Warehouse District. You needed proper glugs of his 27 Club coffee just to keep up with the lanky rock star’s itinerary.

For a guy that doesn’t “want to be cool anymore,” he was managing to do just that most of the time.

Then came Sunday, the full enchilada: a Harley-Davidson city ride which rolled into a massive “MGK Day Art + Community Festival” on Mall C. Food trucks, live music, vendors, beer gardens—this wasn’t just a party, it was a city-wide “activate-all-senses” festival.

The “MGK Day Monster Energy Celebrity Shootout” tipped off at 5 p.m.. The first-ever streetball-style celebrity showdown featured Team Monster Energy vs. Team Webull and was hosted by Cavs’ in-arena voice Ahmaad Crump, with DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia laying down the beats. Fans blew up social media with all kinds of gushing.

“Cleveland showed out for MGK Day,” declared one post that racked up thousands of likes. On Instagram, Destination Cleveland summed up the weekend with scene-snippets (“2025 MGK Day recap in 15 seconds. #thisiscle #basketball #mgk”) capturing that adrenaline rush with a barrage of cool visuals.

To answer your question, there were no Megan Fox or Sydney Sweeney sightings – that we can officially confirm, anyway! – but the weekend had plenty of star power nonetheless. And he surprised his 16-year-old daughter Casie with a car, so there was that.

After the game, MGK took over the stage with a performance that brought the weekend’s energy full circle. Whistles, cheers—Cleveland roared for its boy-makes-good who delivered a bigger and “better-than-ever” event.

Across social platforms, fans praised the weekend’s mix of street-style energy and hometown roots.

The guy still takes his share of shots from the public. Considered a “polarizing artist” (his term) in a recent interview in The New York Times, he gave Cleveland a weekend it won’t let go of anytime soon.

The Times story explains his over-the-top vibes when showing his hometown a good time. It’s an important read to better understand what makes him tick.

Sports legends, entertainers, local flavor, charity events and more disguised as an album release party in The Land? Good stuff and good on ya, Colson.

And good on Cleveland for supporting it.

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