![[L-R] Sophie Lloyd and Machine Gun Kelly](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Vs93hLGyh9YGWSDXGX3HqT-1890-80.jpg.webp)
YouTube and social media guitar sensation Sophie Lloyd has joined Machine Gun Kelly's live band for his forthcoming Mainstream Sellout tour.
In a new Instagram Story posted by MGK, Lloyd – who boasts 722,000 YouTube subscribers and 613,000 Instagram followers at the time of writing – can be seen rehearsing alongside the pop-punk superstar ahead of the imminent trek, which kicks off June 8 in Austin, Texas.
“Added a new friend to the band,” Kelly writes in a caption, while also tagging the other members of his band, guitarist Justin Lyons, bassist Steve “Baze” Basil, drummer JP “Rook” Cappelletty and producer and songwriter Brandon Allen.
Lloyd has since posted several Instagram Stories of her own, writing: “Secret's out – I'll be joining Machine Gun Kelly on his Mainstream Sellout tour this year!”
The guitarist – who has just arrived back in the UK after rehearsals – adds that she's “so incredibly excited to be given this opportunity”, and that she's “honored to play alongside such amazing musicians”.
![[L-R] Sophie Lloyd and Machine Gun Kelly](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bKebbPzTGBP9f2CQ7BdAGY-1200-80.jpg.webp)
MGK's Mainstream Sellout tour – which supports his second pop-punk-flavored outing of the same name – kicks off at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on June 8.
The trek spans 43 dates, hitting Miami, Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles and loads more, before wrapping up August 13 at the FirstEnergy Stadium in Kelly's hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
A second leg will begin a month later in Europe from September 17, in which MGK will perform in Germany, Italy, France, the UK and more. For a full list of Mainstream Sellout tour dates, head to Machine Gun Kelly's website.
Like any YouTuber with a large online following, Sophie Lloyd has a history of partnering with other musicians – teaming up with fellow YouTube star Cole Rolland and Trivium's Matt Heafy in the past year alone – but Machine Gun Kelly is the most high-profile of her collaborators to date.
The British guitarist is known for her shred guitar takes on popular songs, which have included renditions of Britney Spears' Toxic, festive classic All I Want for Christmas is You, and Muse's Plug In Baby, which she recorded using a Manson guitar gifted to her by Matt Bellamy himself.
While Machine Gun Kelly appears entrenched in guitar music for now, he recently revealed plans to revert to rap for his next album to make people “miss” his pop-punk material.
“If I keep doing things to prove things to people, I'm going to one, drive myself crazy and two, not make a good product,” he told Audacy's Kevan Kenney last month. “I made [2020's] Tickets to my Downfall and Mainstream Sellout because I wanted to make them. I need to now also make people miss that sound.”
He added that he's keen to complete his trilogy of pop-punk albums with a third outing in the future, though. “I don't think making a third that's so [similar] is going to be exciting unless it's missed,” he said.
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