How do you like to kick off your work week? Well, in Minnesota, they like to celebrate the start of the week by rocking out at a Machine Gun Kelly concert. On Monday, June 22nd, Minnesotans flocked to the new Mystic Lake Amphitheater to enjoy the much-needed sunshine and warm weather and to be a part of the momentous inaugural show at the new venue. Fans flocked from all over the state and neighboring states for MGK‘s Lost Americana Tour, with support from rapper Wiz Khalifa and alternative rapper Mod Sun. The lineup brought an impressive twenty thousand out on a work night.

The impressive structure was well-designed and well-appointed, with three entrance gates and well-organized security leading the charge to get everyone in without issues. Entering through the North Gate brought you into the chaos of the main thoroughfare, with an elevator directly ahead, a medic tent, and a staircase to the lawn/balcony seating to the left; to the right, a merchandise stand followed by a line of bars and food vendors. As one would expect, everything around the venue was very clean and surprisingly well-oiled for a first event. The open-air pit butts up to an expansive seating area, above which is another large seated area, before leveling out to a lush green lawn, complete with a bar and lounge offering food options. Just make sure that you bring a raincoat or a poncho if you’re in the upper levels, just in case not every show is as blessed as this one was with clear skies.

Walking from the casino parking lot to the entrance, Mod Sun was booming, filling the air with crisp, clear music, an early taste of the fantastic acoustics we were in for. You could feel the excitement in the atmosphere before you even made it to the entrance, chatter and excitement swirling between fans. The crowd’s cheers reverberated through the theater as Mod Sun ended his set, obviously well warmed up for the rest of the night. But, just in case they weren’t, Wiz Khalifa was next up, and he was bound to get the heat rising. Joined by one of his fellow Taylor Gang members, Chevy Woods, Wiz cranked out a sixteen-song set. DJ Bonics got the party started with the help of touring members Kenneth Wright (bass), Uncle Bubz (keys), Russell Gellman-Sheehan (guitar), and Kendal Lewis (drums).

Each person on stage brought their own unique energy and style, but each one gave a show to remember. After a few minutes of edging from DJ Bonics, Wiz finally made his entrance with Chevy, and in true Wiz fashion, both emerged with a joint blazing in one hand and a microphone in the other. The crowd’s energy shifted; the vibe was a mellow and calm type of excitement. It was no less exciting than before but a different high vibe.

While a majority of the set included songs about smoking and vibing, iconic Wiz tracks like “Roll Up” from 2011, “The Thrill” from 2009, and “We Dem Boyz” from 2014. But not everyone is familiar with or a regular fan of Wiz Khalifa, or so they think anyway. He played some of his more popular and mainstream songs, which shocked even me, who was unaware that Wiz performed or was a feature on them. Songs like the well-known “Black and Yellow,” a very popular bop of 2011, and a cover of Mike WiLL Made It’s “23.” Wiz did not hold back during his performance, shedding his shirt and dropping down, giving the audience an intimate preview of his bedroom moves as he thrust his groin to the beat of the music. The crowd lost it, cheering him on and waving, trying to calm their flushed cheeks.

Check out the Wiz Khalifa concert photo gallery below:

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It wasn’t all smoking, ass popping, and thrusting, though. Wiz did take moments to cool down the feverish fans with other well-known and slightly slower-paced songs, such as “Payphone,” a Maroon 5 cover; “See You Again,” a 2015 tribute to fallen star Paul Walker; and “Young, Wild, and Free,” a 2011 collab with Snoop Dogg. Wiz Khalifa did an excellent job of hyping up the crowd for headliner Machine Gun Kelly, and it didn’t matter if you were a long-time fan or someone just familiar with the name; there was at least one song on the setlist that everyone knew.

The clock seemed to tick by slower and slower as it approached the time for the main event. Finally, nine fifteen struck, and warm summer air and heat produced by the thousands of bodies suddenly seemed less stifling as the opening notes to “FIX YOUR FACE” activated the stereocilia and flooded your ears. The stage was full of so much action and color, it was hard to know where your eyes should be looking at any given moment (assuming you could tear them away from MGK himself). Large screens towered above at the back of the stage, with dynamic live footage of the show playing in real time.

Center of the stage sat the head of dear Lady Liberty, but with a new, unhealthy habit of smoking, resting between her lips was a large cigarette. With a guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, keys, a dancer, and a giant inflatable cigarette adorning the microphone stand, needless to say, there was a lot to notice. As if he wasn’t already lighting up the stage enough on his own, when you least expected it, he took it up a notch in illumination and heat with repeated pyrotechnics. He even joined the fun, striking up a flair and waving it around like he was directing air traffic… or maybe distracting a giant Tyrannosaurus rex?

Either way, the result with the smoke and light was very aesthetically interesting. After the first twelve, yes, I said FIRST twelve, songs, he was joined on stage by his partner in crime and touring compadre, Wiz Khalifa, where they performed four songs together, “Girl Next Door,” “Everything Tattted,” “MPH,” and “Mind of a Stoner,” after which he took his first break during the Gianna pt. 1 interstitial video.

After his first of a handful of intermissions, he performed a cover of The Killers’ extremely popular “Mr. Brightside,” which the crowd went absolutely crazy for. He then took a musical trip down past relationships with substance abuse and his former fiancée, Megan Fox, with songs like “Blood Valentine” and “Kiss Kiss.” At this point, we are only about two-thirds of the way through the set and twenty-three songs in. But it is at this point in the show where he makes a big switch-up, popping up on a small second stage on the lawn of the arena surroundings, completely surrounded by fans gushing at their proximity to the star.

Slowing things down slightly, MGK delivered a beautiful acoustic set from his perch above the crowd. Stepping temporarily into the world of country with his own spin on Zach Bryan’s “Sun to Me” was enough to convert anyone there who didn’t already listen to the genre to at least check it out. The crowd lit up with phone lights as the heartfelt tune of “Time of My Life” touched many in the crowd, bringing some tears amongst the masses.

To end his acoustic set and join the rest of the band on the main stage, he stepped back into the country genre as he performed a song originally performed with Jelly Roll, the popular melody of “Lonely Road.” But now, before letting the audience know that the distance was the longest he’d had to run yet for the tour, he even slips into the song as he jumps off the stage and starts running “like a cheetah” to get back to the main stage for the next song, “Concert for Aliens.” He didn’t stay on the stage long, as he jumped down to join his mom in the pit for his performance of “Nothing Inside,” his arm around her shoulders, swaying and singing with the fans along the barricade. The thirty-one song show ended with the emotional song dedicated to his daughter, Cassie, about after he leaves this earth, “Play this when I’m gone.”

Check out the MGK concert photo gallery below:

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Two and a half hours later, the show finally came to a close, right? No, of course not. What about the encore?! In true MGK fashion, he couldn’t leave off with just one encore song, not even just two, but three songs. The first one, “Paper Cuts,” he was joined on stage by opener Mod Sun. He rounded out the last two songs with their extended versions, “Cliche” and “Vampire Diaries.” After one blessing was done of the venue by Colson himself, with the burning of sweetgrass as an offering, asking for blessings to be a vessel of love and for the safety of the crowd, which included a handful of his family members, it would seem that the Gods received his offer and poured out their blessings. This couldn’t have been a more amazing first show for this new and sure-to-be destination venue in Shakopee, Minnesota. Machine Gun Kelly did more than just leave his mark there; he left a piece of his soul on the grounds, becoming a piece of Minnesota forever.

Catch MGK on the Road…