Last weekend (July 13-14), reggae and dancehall legend Buju Banton rocked New York's UBS Arena for two bombastic sold-out shows – his first US appearances in 13 years. As it turns out, these two shows were just the beginning of Gargamel's massive return Stateside.
Today (July 15) Advertising sign can exclusively reveal that the Grammy-winning superstar is embarking on a 14-date US arena trek called “The Overcomer tour.” Three-time Grammy-nominated R&B singer-songwriter Fridayy will be the tour's special guest. Produced by AG Touring, a black-owned label in association with Gargamel Music and XO Management, The Overcomer tour will kick off on August 24th at Amerant Bank Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and will visit major US cities such as Houston, Atlanta. and Boston, before concluding on November 17 at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Fans can purchase tickets at Banton's official webpage. Presale starts Wednesday July 16th at 10am. local time. General sale begins Friday, July 19 at 10am. local time.
“In every state of the United States of America, you have a different synergy of people, different ethnicities coming together. And when the music they love comes on, they react in a harmonious way, just enjoying themselves,” says Banaton. Advertising sign via Zoom during a rehearsal break that was later dropped by the legendary Marcia Griffiths. “This is a remarkable feeling to share among the masses. After not being here for quite some time, I can't wait to rekindle that passion and euphoria.”
And it's been quite some time since the star last appeared in the United States. Just a day after he won the 2011 Best Reggae album Grammy for his timeless Before dawn, Bandon's criminal trial began in Tampa, Florida. It was him he was eventually convicted conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and use of communication wire to facilitate a drug trafficking offense and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
The now 50-year-old spent eight years at Georgia's McRae Correctional Institution and regained his freedom on December 7, 2018. Since his release, Banton has signed with Roc Nation and released a pair of Grammy-nominated LPs: 2020 Upside 2020 and 2023 Born for greatness. It has also appeared on several major movie soundtracks — including the 2020s Bad Boys for Life and 2024 The Book of Clarencee — and returned to touring around the world, most notably the 2019 Long Walk to Freedom concert in Kingston, Jamaica, his first appearance since the release.
As he prepares to get back on the road, Banton lets the music take the lead. “Music knows no time, so we don't have a clock in the rehearsal room,” he says. “We just do what the music calls us to do and when we feel like we've accomplished something, we call it a day and then we're on the next day and we're back together.”
With a career spanning nearly 40 years, Banton has an extensive catalog to draw from. He has sent 12 projects into the Top 10 Reggae Albums, including 1997's eight-week run at the top of the charts Inna Heights. From “Make My Day” and “Champion” to “Wanna Be Loved,” “Blessed” and “Buried Alive,” Banton has directed nearly four decades of dancehall and reggae, bringing both genres to myriad global audiences and defining many generations. the way. Of course, such a deep discography complicates the task of creating a touring setlist, and Banton doesn't particularly want to stay wedded to a particular collection of songs.
“My catalog is quite extensive, so to highlight one or two songs would be cheating a lot of people and putting my foot in my mouth,” he jokes. “I do not want to suffer from this deadly disease – foot-and-mouth disease. You don't want to catch it! I try to make the masses a part of what I do in any way I can. We also try to poll to find out who the favorite is in each region. Is important. In modern times we have so many tools, back then we didn't have all of these at our fingertips. I want to do more.”
Of course, with a new tour comes new music, and Banton promises a new album that's “100% dancehall, hardcore roots reggae, something fi yuh skank on, fi di gyal dem bruk wild!” As Banton says, “the music needs help and that's no secret,” so with his new record and tour, he hopes to “rekindle the passion of reggae music and let [people] know that he is not dead.' While he hasn't decided whether he wants to prioritize collaborations on the new album, he's looking fondly at 'Body Touching Body' and 'Party Girls,' Victoria Monét's two duets from 2023. 'I tried some R&Reggae with Victoria Monét and it was quite successful,” he muses. “I like that mix of R&B and reggae.”
“I've been in this business since I was 19 years old making reggae music for the world. It's been 36 years, going on 37 years,” says Banton. “I just [want to] raise the name of the true and living creator and say 'Hi' and greetings and 'I love you' to all the good people who come out to see Buju Bandon and support me in all my struggles.'
Find the Overcomer tour dates below.
- August 24 — Ft. Lauderdale, FL — Amerant Bank Arena
- August 25 — Tampa, Florida — Amalie Arena
- August 27 — Washington, DC — Capital One Arena
- August 30 — Boston, MA — TD Garden
- September 1 — Philadelphia, PA — Wells Fargo Center
- September 6 — Hartford, CT — XL Center
- September 8 — Atlanta, GA — State Farm Arena
- September 12 — Houston, Texas — Toyota Center
- September 13 — Dallas, Texas — American Airlines Center
- September 15 — Phoenix, AZ — Footprint Center
- September 18 — Inglewood, CA — Intuit Dome
- September 23 — San Jose, CA — SAP Center
- September 29 — Chicago, IL — Allstate Arena
- November 17 — Brooklyn, New York — Barclays Center
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/buju-banton-announces-overcomer-world-tour-following-first-us-shows-in-13-years-see-the-dates-1235729072/
