MGK: Lost Americana Tour
fiserv forum- Milwaukee, WI - december 6th
Written by: Lydia Scull and Gracie Willeford| December 10th, 2025
Hi! We (Lydia and Gracie) are both juniors at UWM. We had an awesome time seeing mgk on his lost americana tour this past weekend! After bonding over our shared interest in his music we have been hoping to see mgk live together since this summer. Hope you enjoy reading our review!
You may know Machine Gun Kelly (mgk) as the genre bending, unconventional personality who brought us hits like Bad Things and my ex’s best friend. In the months leading up to the release of his new album lost americana, we discovered our shared interest in his older music, specifically the 2020 album tickets to my downfall. After tragically missing his free pop-up concert in August at Milwaukee’s Shank Hall, we have been anticipating hearing the music from our teenage years live together, so we were stoked to get the privilege of attending the lost americana tour’s sold-out show in Milwaukee at the Fiserv Forum on December 6th. The track list for the show took the audience through his many eras- from his early 2010’s rap origins, to his pop punk-punk entrance of tickets to my downfall, sandwiched between the new pop-rock album lost americana. While we were mainly familiar with tickets to my downfall due to its pop culture relevance in 2020/2021, we were surprised to see the crowd was equally as energetic throughout, even with songs dating back 10+ years in his discography. Overall, mgk and his insanely talented crew put on an amazing performance.
The detail in the set design was impressive, with the focal point being the giant lady-liberty statue. mgk made an entrance as a smoky haze revealed the singer rising from the mouth of the statue as the beginning track of lost americana, outlaw overture plays. The track had an energetic, electronic feel, getting the crowd hyped for what’s to come. The stage presence from the whole band was inviting, and you could tell they were having a blast playing for the crowd. The band consisted of Sophie Lloyd and Justin Lyons on guitar, John Cappelletty AKA RookXX on drums, and Steve “Baze” Basil on base. Each band member had their own solo moment, which was cool to see in such a big venue. We also appreciated how a solo artist still highlights his band members and gives them their moments to shine. The band was accompanied by two amazing backup dancers, Caitlyn Holzer and Delaney Glazer. They both accompanied mgk in the cliché dance break, the hit single from lost americana, with Delaney the star of the original music video.
Mgk’s performance was energetic, utilizing several parts of the set design, walking through the crowd, and performing a few songs on a smaller stage in the middle of the pit. We loved the crowd interaction when he picked fans to come on stage and be his “bloody valentines”, inspired by the song tickets to my downfall. A sweet moment was when he called a young fan who he had met earlier that day on stage to sing Halsey’s feature on forget me too. His appreciation and dedication to his fans is really touching, and it was cool to see fans of all ages coming together to enjoy his music.
One thing that made us ecstatic for this concert was the promised tickets to my downfall 5-year anniversary performance, where he played the entire album in full. The 2020 release was in stark contrast to the then-rapper’s previous work, with influences of classic pop-punk bands like Green Day and Blink-182. Upon its release, the album was met with skepticism because of the genre switch, however this proved to be in mgk’s favor as this invited a whole new fan base to his music. The album served as an edgy, guitar-filled ballad with the iconic, angsty opening song title track (our personal favorite) that influenced internet culture leading out of the 2020 pandemic. We never expected to hear this album live, so we loved this throwback to such a memorable era.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the show and hope to see him stop again in Milwaukee his next time on the road!