Concert News

Former Machine Gun Kelly — now mgk — sets sights on Houston with new tour

mgk will play at Dos Equis Pavilion on May 24, 2026.

Photo courtesy of mgk

Mgk, the rapper/singer formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly, is hitting the road with The Lost Americana Tour, a massive journey around the world that will include a stop at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

The visit to Texas — which also includes stops in Austin on May 22 and Dallas on May 24 — will be part of the second North American leg of the tour, running from May 15 to July 1.

The first North American leg starts on November 15 and runs through December 19. That will be followed by a European leg in February and March, and five dates in Australia and New Zealand in April before returning to his home continent.

In all, mgk will travel to 66 cities over the course of almost eight months, a tour befitting his growing stature in the music business.

He'll be joined by Wiz Khalifa on select dates, including all three Texas concerts.

The tour is in support mgk's seventh studio album, the recently-released Lost Americana, which continues to showcase his blend of rap, rock, and alt-pop. Each of his seven albums have made at least the top 10 on the Billboard 200, with two of them going to No. 1.

Born Colson Baker, mgk officially switched from his previous stage name of Machine Gun Kelly in early 2024. Feeling the name (also the name of a famous gangster) no longer fit him, he changed it to "infuse the artist with the human."

Tickets for the tour will be available starting with presales on Monday, September 22. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale beginning on Thursday, September 25 at 12 PM at Ticketmaster.com.

ontTHE LOST AMERICANA TOUR DATES

NORTH AMERICA 2025

Sat Nov 15 – Orlando, FL – Warped Tour Orlando
Tue Nov 18 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
Thu Nov 20 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
Fri Nov 21 – Las Vegas, NV – F1 Las Vegas
Sun Nov 23 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Tue Nov 25 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
Sat Nov 29 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
Mon Dec 01 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
Thu Dec 04 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
Sat Dec 06 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
Mon Dec 08 – Hamilton, ON – TD Coliseum
Wed Dec 10 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
Fri Dec 12 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Sat Dec 13 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Sun Dec 14 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
Tue Dec 16 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Fri Dec 19 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena

EUROPE 2026

Sat Feb 14 – Bologna, IT – Unipol Arena
Tue Feb 17 – Munich, DE – Olympiahalle
Wed Feb 18 – Vienna, AT – Wiener Stadthalle
Fri Feb 20 – Krakow, PL – TAURON Arena
Sat Feb 21 – Prague, CZ – O2 arena
Tue Feb 24 – Berlin, DE – Uber Arena
Wed Feb 25 – Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena
Fri Feb 27 – Paris, FR – adidas arena
Mon Mar 02 – Cologne, DE – LANXESS arena
Tue Mar 03 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
Thu Mar 05 – London, UK – The O2
Sat Mar 07 – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Sun Mar 08 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tue Mar 10 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena Birmingham
Thu Mar 12 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena*

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND 2026

Wed Apr 08 – Perth, AU – RAC Arena
Sat Apr 11 – Melbourne, AU – Rod Laver Arena
Tue Apr 14 – Sydney, AU – Qudos Bank Arena
Thu Apr 16 – Brisbane, AU – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Sat Apr 18 – Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena

NORTH AMERICA 2026

Fri May 15 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
Sat May 16 – Concord, CA – Toyota Pavilion at Concord
Sun May 17 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Wed May 20 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Fri May 22 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Sat May 23 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sun May 24 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Wed May 27 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Fri May 29 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre
Sat May 30 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium
Sun May 31 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Tue Jun 02 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Wed Jun 03 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Fri Jun 05 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
Sat Jun 06 – Hartford, CT – Xfinity Theatre
Tue Jun 09 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Wed Jun 10 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Fri Jun 12 – Scranton, PA – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
Sat Jun 13 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Sun Jun 14 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Tue Jun 16 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Wed Jun 17 – Grand Rapids, MI – Acrisure Amphitheater
Fri Jun 19 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Sat Jun 20 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Fri Jun 26 – West Valley City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sat Jun 27 – Boise, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
Mon Jun 29 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Tue Jun 30 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
Wed Jul 01 – Ridgefield, WA – Cascades Amphitheater

concerts music

Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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