MACHINE GUN KELLY LIVE!! | PNC ARENA RALEIGH
Machine Gun Kelly also known as MGK performed in Raleigh at the PNC Arena during his “Mainstream Sellout” tour on 06/22/22. Machine Gun Kelly is more currently known for his acting in movies such as “The Dirt, The Motley Crue Bio Movie”, “Project Power” and “The King of Staten Island” among other films. He started out his career as a rapper/hip hop artists but in the past two or three years his musical style has changed. With the help of Travis Parker from Blink 182, Machine Gun Kelly is forging his way into the world of pop punk. His most recent releases really embrace that style of music, and he is doing everything he can to make his mark in the pop punk community. With the release of his 2020 record called “tickets to my downfall”, you can hear the abrupt and massive change he has gone through creatively as he stray’s away from his original rap/hip style. This 2020 release is full on pop punk album with songs such as “Bloody Valentine”, “My ex’s best friend” and “All I know” cementing his commitment to the pop punk genre.
Machine Gun Kelly’s performance at the PNC arena in Raleigh was wild, fun and over the top. His entrance onto the stage was something I have never seen live before. He had this large prop helicopter attached to a rail system fly over the crowd then stop above this small stage. They lowered the latter from the helicopter and Machine Gun Kelly then rose up from underneath this platform and started singing his first song. He moved slowly over the crowd hanging from this large prop helicopter until the helicopter finally aligned itself over the stage and he then unhooked himself and kept on singing. The arena went nuts with fans screaming, yelling and jumping for joy when they saw him fly over them. It was a really great opening to his show. The rest of the show was great, he had a mixture of pyrotechnics and confetti shooting from canons while keeping energized and engaging the crowd any chance he got. I was unsure on what to expect with this being the first time we have covered his tour but to be honest, it was a great show! He did a great job and really blew the roof off the arena. The fans loved it and sang along with him and some people jumping around and pumping their hands in the air.
If you like Machine Gun Kelly or if you are looking to see a really great performance, then you definitely want to see him live. It really is a great concert experience.
Lead Photographer and Editor Chris Sturk