MGK Recalls Nearly Fighting Taking Back Sunday While ‘High on Mushrooms’ at Warped Tour

Machine Gun Kelly made his return to the Vans’ Warped Tour for its 30th anniversary — and shared a wild memory from the music festival.

“Thank you, Kevin Lyman, for putting up with me back in the days when you had to break up the fight when I was in Taking Back Sunday’s tent,” Kelly, 35, said in between songs during his set on Saturday, June 14, at the RFK Stadium Grounds in Washington, D.C., offering a shout-out to the Warped Tour founder. “They wanted to fight me because I was high on mushrooms and I thought I was in my tent, but it was theirs.”

Kelly remembered the incident going down during the Warped Tour Seattle date in 2012, which elicited cheers from the crowd.

“Thank you, Kevin Lyman, for bringing me back,” he continued. “Having faith.”

Kelly’s set was full of jokes as he called out a crowd member who was holding a sign that said, “You’re not even pop punk.” While the singer laughed at the sign, he also told the person holding it: “You don’t even lift, bro.”

Elsewhere during his performance, Kelly made a separate reference to his past on the Warped Tour.

“I know I’m sniffing my nose like I just did three lines of cocaine, but that was the last time I was on Warped Tour, not now,” he quipped.

Because it was Warped Tour, Kelly focused mainly on playing songs from his 2020 pop punk record, Tickets to My Downfall, while offering a few throwbacks to his rap past. The singer also performed his latest single, “Cliché,” live for the first time.

“Apparently when I released this song, it was world news,” he said, referring to his dance moves. “It’s not that big of a deal guys, it’s just a pop song. I mean, no, it’s a big deal because it’s a fire song, but just the hate part — it’s just not a big deal dude.”

After the song was over, Kelly admitted it was “a lot of pressure” and he was “pretty f***ing nervous” to sing the track for the first time. However, he made it through flawlessly.

“Warped Tour, its f***ing MGK here, dude, 2025 Lost Americana the album, August 8,” Kelly told the crowd at the end of his set on Saturday. “We’re back to our roots, man, we’re just f***ing having fun. F*** the industry, we go where we’re celebrated, not tolerated, you know what I mean.”

Following its Washington, D.C. dates, the Warped Tour will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Long Beach, California, later this month and Orlando, Florida, in November.