Buju Banton Announces ’The Overcomer’ Arena Tour Across The US After Record-Breaking NY Concerts
Following the resounding success of two sold-out shows, with over 36,000 concertgoers at the UBS arena in Long Island, New York, Grammy award-winning reggae artist Buju Banton has announced his inaugural Arena Tour, “The Overcomer.”
The historical run kicks off on August 24 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the Amerant Bank Arena, making stops across United States to Tampa, Washington DC, Boston Massachusetts, Atlanta, Houston, TX, Inglewood CA before heading to Brooklyn NY, Barclay Center on November 17.
Tour Dates
- Aug 23- Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Amerant Bank Arena
- Aug 25- Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
- Aug 27- Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
- Aug 30 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
- Sep 1- Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
- Sep 6- Hartford, CT – XL Center
- Sep 8- Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
- Sep 12- Houston, TX – Toyota Center
- Sep 13- Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
- Sep 15- Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
- Sep 18 – Inglewood, CA – Intuit Dome
- Sep 23 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
- Sep 29 – Chicago, IL – All State Arena
- Nov 17 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
The tour is produced by black-owned AG Touring in association with Gargamel Music, XO Management, Mammoth, and Eventim.
Banton, backed by his Shiloh Band, captivated New York fans with two thrilling 90-minute performances over the weekend, cementing his status as the first reggae artist to achieve such record-breaking ticket sales in two days.
Rightfully titled, “The Overcomer” tour will feature billboard chart topping special guest artist Fridayy. Known for his exceptional musical abilities, Fridayy, a Haitian American singer, songwriter, and record producer, has made waves in the music industry with his “When It Comes To You”, Stand By Me”, “Without You” and his triple Grammy nominated song “God Did” by Dj Khaled featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and John Legend.
In a statement regarding this significant milestone, Buju Banton’s manager, represented by Joesph Budafuco, expressed great pride in Banton’s accomplishments and the monumental nature of his first-ever arena tour. Budafuco highlighted the significance of Buju Banton returning to tour in the United States after a 15-year hiatus, emphasizing the anticipation and excitement surrounding this momentous tour.
The ‘Long Walk To Freedom New York’ shows were Banton’s first US performance in 13 years.
Banton had spent most of 2010 on remand following his arrest in 2009 after a DEA informant provided evidence of the Champion singer brokering a cocaine deal in Florida. He was released on bail in October 2010 after his first trial resulted in a hung jury. The singer was subsequently convicted in February 2011 for illegal possession of a firearm and conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. A judge later threw out the gun charge and reduced his prison sentence to seven years.
Banton was released and deported to Jamaica in December 2018.
The first ‘Long Walk To Freedom’ concert, held in March 2019, attracted over 40,000 people in Kingston, Jamaica.
Over his 30-year career, Buju, whose real name is Mark Myrie, has released 12 studio albums, most of them featuring recurring topics such as consciousness, justice, freedom, and love. These include Til Shiloh (1995), which spent 104 weeks on the Billboard Reggae Album chart and is certified Gold in the US, the Grammy Award-winning Before The Dawn (2010), Upside Down 2020 (2020), and Born for Greatness (2023)
Banton celebrates his 51st birthday today (July 15).