Machine Gun Kelly claimed he was ‘banned’ from Coachella

Coachella fans worldwide have been counting down for months as the festival gates finally open.

And they now have just days to wait, with this year's fest preparing to see Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, and Karol G as headliners, with many more exciting acts to take the stage.

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will return to the Empire Polo Club for two back-to-back weekends (April 11–13 and April 18–20), with Sabrina Carpenter and Teddy Swims kicking things off — while Justin Bieber, Addison Rae and Sombr will also appear across both opening nights.

But despite it being a world-renowned event that draws around 125,000 people annually, not everyone is a fan, and some are apparently even denied the privilege of entry.

Machine Gun Kelly, who recently opened his Lost Americana tour in Perth, previously claimed he was banned from Coachella in 2024.

Coachella fans around the world have spent months eagerly waiting for the festival gates to open (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Two years ago, the 35-year-old, known professionally as MGK, announced just hours before the California-based festival was due to kick off that he wouldn't be attending because he was 'banned'.

Writing on X, the rapper-rocker claimed he'd never attended because 'they banned me in 2012 for whatever reason'.

The singer, who previously dated Megan Fox and is the father of his 14-year-old daughter Cassie, added, “I was looking forward to finally going this year, but my daughter’s volleyball tournament ended up on the same days so y’all will have to lmk how it is, she comes first.”

It wasn't the first time the musician had hit back at the festival. MGK, whose real name is Colson Baker, said 'Coachella is a huge joke' just a week after it finished in 2012.

“Its corporate as f**k and they only accept the accepted but fake like they dont,” he added at the time. “Sad that music is so trendy now.”

Coachella, which will take place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California will run for two consecutive weekends (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella)

However, only a year later, the musician, who began his career releasing mixtapes, made a surprise appearance on Friday, April 11, joining Three 6 Madua and pal, Travis Barker.

The singer, who welcomed his and Megan Fox's daughter, Saga Blade, in March 2025, was seen dancing to to 'Hit a Muthaf----' as Barker took the drums.

"Let me cook," MGK captioned a video of the team-up on X, before adding a caption describing the importance of the moment alongside a photo of him and Juicy J.

"Juice believed in me 2011 before the world did," he wrote.

"First rapper to pull up and get high with me. First major feature I had. The chorus of 'wild boy' is sampled from our song on his mixtape."