MGK is bringing Wiz Khalifa to Cleveland — here's everything happening at MGK Day

Entertainment‘MGK Day’ returns to Cleveland with Wiz Khalifa, 50 Cent and moreMGK returns to Cleveland with MGK Day 2026 happening August 7-9 in Cleveland. Here, MGK thanks the crowd after being introduced during fourth inning action in the MLB game between the Chicago Cubs at the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Tuesday, August 13 2024. David Petkiewicz, cleveland.comDavid Petkiewicz, cleveland.comBy Malcolm X Abram, cleveland.comCLEVELAND, Ohio – This weekend, MGK, the artist formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly, returns to Cleveland for another weekend of live music, fan service, charity and community events. Now the pop-punk-rap superstar is back to celebrate his hometown with the latest iteration of his “MGK Day Community Festival.” It happens this Friday, Aug. 7 through Sunday, Aug. 9 at various spots throughout the city. A full schedule can be found at mgkday.com.It’s the third time the man born Colson Baker in Houston, Texas, will bring a gaggle of activities, a concert finale and good vibes to The Land. This year’s edition will be highlighted by a show featuring MGK and Pittsburgh’s own Wiz Khalifa at 3 p.m. on Saturday, at Northcoast Yard (515 Erieside Ave.) on the lakefront. General admission tickets for the concert are $60.07 and are available now at speakeasygo.com.Billed as “a block party, charity event, and community activation highlighting all things Cleveland,” MGK Day is a chance for the rapper-rocker to bask in the love from regional fans and give back to the city that sent him down the path to pop music fame and fortune. The first official MGK Day was on August 8, 2023, with Mayor Justin Bibb commemorating MGK’s return to Cleveland for his sold-out 2022 show at then First Energy Stadium. It was later chronicled in his 2023 “Mainstream Sellout Live from Cleveland” concert film.That event and subsequent honor from the city sparked what has evolved into an annual city celebration event.MGK hypes up the crowd before the game between the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.comThe fun officially begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, August 7, with a Best Trick skateboarding contest at Crooked River Skate Park, along with live music and food trucks.On Saturday, for some, the festivities will begin at noon when tailgating opens at Northcoast Yard before the concert. But at 2 p.m. there will be a City Ride beginning at Southeast Harley in Bedford Heights with “kickstands up” at 3 p.m. In past years, MGK has led the ride through the city, making for fun photos of MGK fans and Cleveland hog riders coming together.Finally, at 6 p.m. will be the concert headlined by MGK and Khalifa with fireworks at dusk.MGK’s 27 Club Coffee shop (215 W. 10th St., Cleveland) on the edge of The Flats is also hosting several MGK Day-related events; most are sold out. However, tickets are still available for Brunch from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, August 9, featuring a live DJ and food and drink specials. Also on Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m., will be a 5K run that begins and ends at 27 Club Coffee, led by Norman Rivera, owner of Stryde Social. Pilates led by Jacklyn.Fit will follow as well as music by DJ Bobby Booshay.MGK finally achieved his dream, selling out the biggest arena in Cleveland on the Tickets to My Downfall Tour.The official MGK Day afterparty happens at Shooters (1148 Main Ave, Cleveland) and is headlined by rapper 50 Cent. Tickets start at $111.39 and are available at speakeasygo.com.MGK Day comes a month after the end of the second phase of his “Lost Americana Tour,” behind the album of the same name released in 2025. So far the tour has taken MGK across U.S. and Canada as well as jaunts through Europe and Australia and New Zealand. Following his brief working vacation at home, he’ll hit the road again later in the month and will visit South Korea and South America, including Brazil’s famed Rock In Rio festival before year’s end. During the tour, MGK has kept fans satiated with new music. He and Khalifa released a nine-track throwback “Blog Era Boyz” mixtape in May, featuring the hazy single “everything tatted” and the more recent (and breezier) “Passport.”And just this past week, MGK teamed up with Japanese emcee Yuki Chiba for the uptempo “JJK,” just in time for MGK’s mid-August appearance at Tokyo’s huge Summer Sonic festival.As if all that weren’t enough to whet your appetite, MGK also released a few solo singles this year, including the acoustic “times of my life” and another tune with an un-family-friendly interjection as its title.Malcolm Abram is an entertainment and music writer for Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer. He is a 25-year veteran music and features writer who has written about the music scenes and communities at the Atlanta...