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Rb Hip Hop

MGK Performs Two Unreleased Songs During Surprise Free Concert at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern

Only 300 fans of the American rock star were lucky enough to get in.

MGK

MGK

Sam Cahill

Last night (August 6), MGK treated 300 lucky fans to a free surprise show at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.

On Wednesday afternoon, around 4 p.m., the rap-rock performer, born Colson Baker, revealed that he would be playing a last-minute concert at the city's small but iconic venue, with the show set to start four hours later.


In the lead-up to the intimate concert, the musician made several cryptic posts to his Instagram stories.

The first was a picture of a private jet with the caption: “Toronto bout to get some Lost Americana vibes today,” a reference to the title of his forthcoming LP. In another post, MGK posted a selfie with the location tagged as Toronto, Ontario, and the “hush” emoji.

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Less than an hour after the news broke, fans were lined up all down Queen Street.

@restlessb

He only posted about it legit 4 hours before doors😂 300 people cap! #machinegunkelly #mgk #toronto #torontotiktok #torontonews #fyp

The small show was in celebration of the release of MGK’s new album, lost americana, out August 8. He attempted to take requests from the crowd, but chaos ensued as fans shouted out various tracks from his discography. “I’m just gonna play some songs. I don’t know if you know them, but we’re just gonna jam,” he decided.

@iheartradioca

@mgk asked for song requests .. and chaos followed 😅 along with some great songs!👏🏼 Can you name all the songs he did at the surprise pop up? #mgk #toronto #livemusic #machinegunkelly #songrequest

“For the night, in honour of we’re calling lost Canadiana,” he shared, which elicited cheers from the audience. “I actually have a cool story about today, which is interesting. My first show in Toronto was 14 years ago today in 2011.”

He shared the importance of “universal alignment” during this album rollout, saying there were no plans to come to Toronto, but he decided to follow his heart. “Unknowingly, we were like, ‘OK, let’s come here, let’s do this show,’ and you know, someone walked backstage and handed me a flyer from our first Canadian show.”

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@much

#Mgk was meant to be here with us tonight in #Toronto 😩❤️ #machinegunkelly @mgk


MGK performed a 15-song set, which included some of his biggest hits like “I’m Think I’m OKAY” and “Glass House,” plus two unreleased songs from his new record — “starman” and “dont wait run fast.”

@sarahmaycurd

I’m too hyped about this song @mgk #mgk #machinegunkelly #lostamericana

Earlier in the day, MGK hosted a meet and greet at Square One’s Sunrise Records in Mississauga, Ontario.

This isn't the first time the Horseshoe Tavern has hosted a big name underplay this year — in January, legendary country star Keith Urban took the stage to a small group of fans.

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Dusana Risovic/Rolling Stone
Macklemore at Rolling Stone Future of Music held at ACL Live at the Moody Theater on March 17, 2023, in Austin, Texas.
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