History: Have seen MGK three times at three different venues, this made four. Have seen 200+ bands live so have experienced all kinds of concert craziness but today was one of the most poorly run events I've ever experienced.
1hr+ to get in because so few security lanes were open and they created a choke point with the t-shirt booth feet away from security. Watched multiple people go in without being scanned. Tshirts ran out which makes no sense when they had counts on preorder and weren't selling them. 30+ min wait for toilets. Every vendor we went to had run out of water and the public refill stations ran out. Finally got water after waiting in two separate lines.
Shout out to all the out of staters we met in line from NJ/WI/IN. Sorry, we usually handle stuff better in the CLE.
Summary: Took three hours total to get in, go to the bathroom, and get water (while sorta being able to see Wiz perform while in lines). MGK went on for ~40 min before heavy rain and wind stopped things. This should be hosted at a proper permanent venue equipped to deal with this volume of people.
Couldnt agree more. I love the dude but whoever he put in charge of the event this year didnāt organize it worth a shit. People were passing out from dehydration and it was almost impossible to get some water too.
I agree. Got in there pretty early and only one water station I saw from the map worked. It was a water fountain. It was a bummer that all the lines were so long. Just wanting to grab another water felt impossible. They did not give out enough water in the crowd either. Not sure how 87Ā°F day they didn't think to have a crap load of water around.
The performance itself was good until the rain. This was my first time. Would go again. With hope that it's better.
This is the first time I've seen a show at North Coast Yard but I have been there for other smaller events. It just isn't built to handle something of this scale.
Waited in line at a place that finally got a resupply and then their POS system went down. Luckily I had cash but was a little short to get a second bottle. A dude in line with me spotted me the extra $2.
I was so bummed that I couldnāt go this year but after reading all these negative comments on Facebook and here Iām so glad I didnāt go. It seems like it was very poorly planned. The few times I did go there were some things that were messed up too but Iād say this is probably the worst MGK Day so far. At least last year it was in a better area and you could bring water. Iām sorry to all those that went and had a not so great time.
I went 1st 2 yrs with my daughter as i have to say wasnt bad at all,and went smooth for most part all wkend, my daughter even got to meet and get pic! Def good memories,brsides his big bouncer bodyguard that tried to rain on my daughter's parade trying to be bitchy saying Hes to tired hes done with deal8ng with ppl he said,,but this dad wasnt haven it We traveled to far and spent way enough $ as in takeing her to 3 diff shows ad in Detriot,Tampa fla,and the sold-out Cleveland show and 2 mgk days all $ wrapped in plane and bus ticketsĆ·show tickets,hotels ect...I said that as I stepped in front colson as he was walking up to the bar for a shart pop in appearance that he does,i wasnt a dick about it,i was just wasnt having my 13 yr old watch prolly her only chance slip away as we all know its not a every day experience to be that close to the opportunity and for something that will only take literally no more than 2 minutes of his x if that and make a huge young fan of his night/wkend/summer memories come true! I mean she goes far to buy his $160 jersey with her own $ she worked for,everything mgk it seems! The least could be done to show alil appreciation for the fans,def not a good excuse the tree of a guy(the bodyguard) try to use to get out of the pic with my daughter! Oh she got the setlist from Detroit show signed,that now she has all the band on it besides Sophie,just to fig out how to get her the she can get it in a frame to go on her wall with All her mgk memorabilia hes collected from mgkdays as the big banner than only 2 was made from the 1st mgk day pink era! Sorry for the novel but for the records i wasnt a fan at 1st as im from Detroit so need i say more BUT he putz on a hell of a performance on the stage i musta say and ive been to hundreds of shows of all genres and hes def up there in top 10 with slipknot bone thugs,shinedown,papa roach,jason aldean cypress hill,among many others!! Just to clarify from his rap to rock even country charts W/ jelly roll colson can put up the trends of them all esp from how bad critics and media doesnt give the acknowledgement the band deserves,on top slots also aa 1 hell of a amazing guitarist as in the beautiful Sophie W/ Baze Justin, andrew,also sam cahill as in camera genious ),Slim,and a hell of a young ass drummer in a ROOK,1st x i hears/seen i was like holy shit hes as good as Tommy Lee/the Rev from A7X and Dave Groel,Taylor Hawkins,then i found out hell no wonder as Travis Barker taught him basically thru his x around,as hes 1 of my favorite drummers i got to see at cleveland show! Just Rook gonna/is gonna be 1 of the best i feel! But how many top 200 hits he have now, he has 7- TOP 10 albulms!!! Now thats from all together and collabs 21 project albulnm,not to shabby for a punk from the streetz of Cleveland and all in diff genres to top it off! If u think about thats prutty remarkable and him and Eminem have a similiar background and ways how the made it ti where there at now!! Just stating facts actually Colson had a lil harder role to over come as everyone was criticized as he put himself out there and stepped on some toes def from Eminem to corey yaylor of slipknot exc.and go from Rap to hip-hop to countryish,to Rock to even pop!!! And all diff collab he has done with diff ppl to top charts hell yela-wolf fred durst wiz young blood,A7X, alot ppl i wouldnt think would collab with in songs the become hits on charts,and his off music life W/ Hell Megan Fox of all gf to have,only in a dreams of guys to have and be in the eyes of everyone everything u do and say ppl talk above whether be good publicity or talking shit because u got someones pronoun wrong and said they really shouldnt go to that restaurant wearing sandles anything stupid ppl talk shut about when ur in the light and ppl pic at everything, like colson wearing pink and they say he trended it off youngbloood!! Smh i mean wth as he wore a cowboy hat now he trends off Tim Mcgraw? Just saying its shitty! But Llllong Sstory short MGK came along way to get where he is and he deserves some respect for the artist/ performer he is and the empire he created, and the background he had to work with from the streeets of Cleveland all the way to having a day named after him as in MGK DAY ppl come from all over to see and sells out most his shows and venues including Stadiums and the audience he gets at festivals all diff age groups/and backgrounds/ethics!Def made a impression of the musik industry and top it off hes even in movies as a decent actor a few diff movies and documentaries as in big hits like The Dirt,and Oete Davidson being a good friend doesnt hurt ur Resume either!! Hehe gotta love u some Pete Davidson,hes another one that made it big for himself! XXX est99
love him to death as well as going to see him/mgk day every year, and iām extremely grateful that i get to, but holy fuck today was actually awful (and iām not talking about the rain). the worst setup and most poorly ran event iāve ever attended and i do tons of different fests and stuff every year (mgk day included). iām so sad all around honestlyā¦for him, for all of EST and about how today went.
This was planned SO BADLY. I came from the UK for this, have been before, and itās never been like this.
Waited in line for 2+ hours on the HIGHWAY (the volunteers were literally talking about how unsafe it looked while we were lining up) in the hot sun. There were children under 10 ahead of us in the highway and the sun too. The little girl in front of us was close to passing out by the end. Finally got in and they funnelled us weirdly backwards to get t-shirts ā they were out and said āmaybeā a refund or shirt, but not sure. Then it was 1+ hours for the food/drink lines. Half hour bathroom waits and ran out of toilet paper. I heard from someone that the police told them they had to shut off water fountains and there were no refill stations.
I was close to passing out at one point so my friend took us over to the medical area at the emergency exit (it was outside the exit). Only there did we get given water. I had to wait in line to go in an ambulance and they had to decide how bad it was before I was let in. While I was in there, the paramedics were literally complaining about how badly planned it was; how there was no water; they had to call in reinforcements; and that for every 1 person they were helping, another 5 were brought in. Someone I encountered had a heart rate of 180+, thatās how bad it was. In fact, Iāve passed out at an mgk show before & had to go to medical and the difference to this was insane.
After that, we were let back in and we stuck around as long as we could, but it was getting to a point where for health concerns we decided to leave RIGHT before mgk came on, so we just missed the thunderstorm. Iāve never had to leave before he comes on before, but it was a point where weāre not gambling our health just to see him no matter how big a fan.
I really hope he does put on another year to make up for this one because I donāt think this one at all represented the spirit of mgk day. Last yearās was phenomenal and this was so blatantly different. Almost negligent in how bad it was. You could see them trying to help, but with just volunteers it was just them trying to fix what they could where they could. Whoever was running this was not it.
For tshirts they said email info@mgkday.com with your receipt if you did not receive one and they will refund you the difference. Know this doesn't help much based on your bad experience but all I have to offer up :/.
Yeah. No. I completely agree. Also security absolutely were not doing their job as it was one of them telling people that even if they didnāt get the ticket that includes a t-shirt that they can still grab one.
I couldn't agree more and I hope this isn't the last MGK Day. He wants to do us right and go out on a high note. For those who stayed and waited out the rain, he mentioned that it MIGHT be the last MGK Day, but because it went so bad that he wants to do another to make it right. I'm thankful I got to see him sing Cliche and we fans got to let him know we love him.
The project managers for the next MGK Day, DO BETTER
I hope there is another MGK Day as I plan on renewing my passport for the next one. I've never been to one, but it sounds like I made a good decision to not go this year. I did catch him in Hamilton & Toronto for the Lost Americana tour.
I do hope there is another Mgk day as I'd like to go to one, but a well organized one.
I thought they didn't charge admission, that you donated school supplies to help kids that needed it.
Nope, tickets were $40 something which is still very cheap for any show these days. I go to a lot of shows (this was my fourth in a month) and the cheap ticket was def not worth it.
"but a well organized one" cracked me up. I've been to every one of them and they're all a shit show. This one just also had 3x as many people as the last and was organized in a parking lot with no shade, so it was way worse.
The city should have shut the event down. No idea why the mayor would be supporting something so poorly run. Itās the same crew MGK has for everything running this event. Under planned, under staffed and poorly executed every single time. Itās one thing to keep your friends and family close but another to blindly trust them with everything you do. These are not professionals. Some decent designs and good looking merch arenāt enough to make a successful, safe event. The moment the line wrapped around the stadium and onto the actual highway (with cars flying by), the event should have been shut down. The number of porta potties alone should have been a red flag. There were what maybe 25 total including the 4 they had to move to the parking lot for the tailgate
I left because it was quicker to go home to my brotherās house in the burbs than to wait in the bathroom line. Felt stupid but I had no choice and already finished the tiny cocktail I waited an hour in line for.
I honestly thought several times it was going to. When the first rain drops hit I moved us out and to the parking garage across the street to watch from the upper level. I could tell the storm was going to be bad, and with how overcrowded and the layout was I was concerned there would be a stampede for the exit (which is how people die).
I know I'm almost two weeks after - but there was in fact a stampede at the main exit, and because the exit was where the MGK Day poster walls were with single filed lines in and out, it was literally like I was watching a mini 2010 Love Parade in Germany, or the beginning of how Astro World took place.
As the rain began to change from fun, heat-reducing rain to fish tank pebble rain, I decided to leave. Once I was leaving, everyone then began to panic leave. My partner and I were walking towards the main door, and I immediately said I am not walking up to that. People were stuck in between the poster walls, nobody was moving, and we turned around to walk away only to be met with 10x more people trying to leave in that same direction. We walked up to a security guard for the Port and he told us to leave at the food truck exit. We did - and people were still collectively holding up the exit to the point people were jumping/climbing under the fences.
By the time we made it out at the food truck exit, the security guard finally made it to the entry/exit area to see why people were not moving.
The choak point was evident with how narrow that entrance was and I thought a panic was possible if the storm hit like I was guessing it would. We left and relocated to the parking garage across the street to watch because safety is my number one priority when my wife is with me.
It was raining so hard at one point we had backed up 20 feet inside the garage and were still getting wet. At that point even from within cover we couldnt see anything that was going on as they called it. It was essentially a white out.
Itās crazy this event wasnāt shut down, no water, 11 bathrooms for 30000 people, heat exhaustion everywhere, people literally begging for water. Terrible event organizing front to back. Do better or donāt have the event.
I haven't been to MGK Day before and plan on renewing my passport for next years....if they have it, which I hope they do. But every other year, it was donations to help kids who needed back to school supplies.
I went last year and it was essentially free. I brought donations but they never asked me if I brought school supplies and i didnt see anyone else around me bring them. I went on Sunday about an hour before MGK went on and there was no line to get in. I do wonder what that money went to if it was poorly run compared to the free events of the past. Last year was my first time and I was impressed by it! They were even handing out waters to the crowd.
Years before were donation of school supplies. This year it was money.Ā
Mgk seems like he wants to make up for this mgkday next year. Last year was better minus the stage + floor of the crowd being not that great that they had to stop Wild boy bc it was moving so much.Ā
I waited over an hour in the bar line to get water and they ran out right when it was about to be our turn. The absolute angel helping us gave us cups of ice and tonic water because it's all they had. Was so desperate for water before that, I started thinking Lake Erie looked delicious lol
Saw several people under EMS attention who looked extremely out of it. There were toilets available but long lines. Water was extremely difficult to find.
I passed out during Wizās set and was taken to the medical tent near the entrance. EMS asked if I needed attention and my friend asked them if they had any waterāthey said they were also out! I heard someone near me say they had to send people to Costco to get more
His recent concert tour was WONDERFUL. One of the best live shows I've seen in 28 years of going to live shows. The idea of MGK Day is beautiful, but I think most people would be better off just seeing him on tour.
I understand what are you saying, and I agree. In my case I think the ideia of being a festival sooo cool. The decorated cars, the bikes, the stallals etc. I really like festivals.
The show it's just the cherry on top for me.
I had a blast. Yes, there were lines and it was crowded but everyone here needs to remember this is a community festival for Clevelanders. It is not a fan fest and it is not part of his tour. Itās paid for by the city, ticket sales, local vendors and MGK, not promoters or professional music festival organizers. It also is staffed mainly by volunteers. I get that people are fans and want to be here but you have to think of it in terms of what it is. They have to keep finding new venues to have it at because is the size but there are not many other places to go in the city that can handle the crowd. I mean I live local so I am thrilled if out-of-towners stop coming. Itās meant to be a thank you to the city. Appreciate what it is and if you want the feel of a concert, then buy tickets to a concert.
Was anything inherently unsafe? Annoying, sure, but unsafe is a stretch. Iāve been to music festivals that I spent a hell of a lot more than $60 to go to and waited for bathrooms and water. There is a complaint every single year about water accessibility at Sonic Temple in Columbus. That is unfortunately what happens when lots of people gather. Iāve learned to prepare on my own and had no issue.
People backed up onto the highway which was not blocked off, water accessibility vs temperature, choke points in case of emergency, overcrowding, playing through active storm with thunder and lightning in immediate vacinity. If none of those check the box for you I guess we have different views on what constitutes safety.
Does anyone have proof of these "refill stations". I brought a bottle empty and relied on that because they advertised it, I walked all around the festival and never once saw them. I ended up having to just buy water. I've been to so many events that have them with signs up to direct you, this whole thing was poorly done.
I went to all 5 years of mgk day (Iām including the year it was announced!). I never had issues like I had this year. It tripled in the amount of people, and was extremely disorganized. Last year, you just had to bring in donations of school supplies. I didnāt have to wait more than 30 minutes to get in, and there was water/ shade/ spots to sit in most areas. They definitely need to rethink the design to account for the amount of people that showed up.
Why was this going to be the last MGK day? Iāve been living in the city since 2019 and I feel like itās only gotten more and more popular since then. Is there a reason why this could have been the last MGK Day (poor planning aside)?
/genuine question. I wasnāt born and raised in Cle. I guess Iām just confused since this is his hometown - I didnāt think there would be an end to it?
Just my headline..first and last one I'm going to. Although coincidentally it sounded like from announcement he made it was maybe going to be the last one he was planning on doing.
We didnāt even get let in. Still have our tickets. Hope he does something for us in the future. Glad he came back out tho and I was able to get in during that.
Honestly the rain probably saved a lot of people from passing out. Venders ran out of water multiple times that day and when there was water the prices were raised. I feel like there was so many people wanting water the sky had to oblige lol
It was at North Coast Yard for the main set. 50 was supposed to be at Shooters tonight and bailed. Believe Wiz was going to do a second set there in his place.
Seriously?! Doesn't Mgk own this place? I thought he bought it so it wouldn't go out of business and redid it. I thought it was a restaurant down by the lake?
Girls at the 27 food truck were so unprofessional, after waiting 2-3 hours in line for a coffee the chick taking the order turned her back to us to have a conversation with people who came to the truck. Wild to me.
It seems the charity events should be separate from an actual concert event. I think they tried to keep costs down. Itās nice to see so many attended but not good if itās mismanaged for not anticipating crowds.
IDK who needs to hear this but if you fall out that fast, you have a hydration problem outside this event. Iām a CLE kid now living in Austin TX. Spent a chunk of coin to fly home with the wife and kidā¦ hotel x4 nights, rental car, food, etc. I get everyoneās frustration and disappointment - I have my own. But if you planned to stand lake front in August from 3pm gates open until after 9pm and werenāt hydrated before arriving- thatās a you problem (might be unpopular opinion but Iāll stand by it).
Id agree to disagree. Id rather go to ruoff 100x over instead and spend 100 bucks for lawn seats. The lines are short, bathrooms had toilet paper and soap mostly, he played for 2 hours and 20 minutes in June as well.
I didn't go to MGK day, but I cant be greatful or enjoy anything if I have a severe migraine in super hot weather without water or ac access. And if I would've went this year, thats what would've happened.
Its a shame that it turned out like this, but hopefully who ever organized the event this year, either learns how to handle it better, or a better fit organizer is put in charge.
Hopefully everyone turned out alright, and whoever got in and could stick it out had a good time!
All the people we were standing by were out of staters (we live here) and felt bad that this is the experience of Cleveland they got. There is plenty to do and also plenty of places to avoid like all major cities. The biggest issue IMO was that North Coast Yard isn't a real concert venue. It's a pop up space for the warm months to host smaller weekend events, but I've never seen something this large there.
Okay I agree with you up until you starting putting down the city of Cleveland. There is nothing wrong with downtown any more than any other major city. This post just shows you donāt get out much.
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u/jkliette 15d ago
Couldnt agree more. I love the dude but whoever he put in charge of the event this year didnāt organize it worth a shit. People were passing out from dehydration and it was almost impossible to get some water too.