| Concert Tour Name: | This Is America Tour |
| Artist: | Childish Gambino |
| Number Of Legs: | 3 |
| Number Of Shows: | 35 |
| Last Tour: | Deep Web Tour (2014) |
| This Tour: | This Is America Tour (2018) |
| Next Tour: | The New World Tour (2024) |
The This Is America Tour was the fifth concert tour by American recording artist Childish Gambino. The tour began in the summer of 2018, playing over 20 shows in North America and Europe.
Glover announced his intention to retire the Childish Gambino pseudonym in June 2017, telling the audience "I'll see you for the last Gambino album" before walking off stage at the Governors Ball Music Festival.[1] He further explained his decision in an interview, feeling his musical career was no longer "necessary" and added "There's nothing worse than like a third sequel" and "I like it when something's good and when it comes back there's a reason to come back, there's a reason to do that."[2] Glover signed with RCA Records in January 2018, which Glover called "a necessary change of pace".[3] [4]
In May 2018, he released a single titled "This Is America" while performing dual hosting and musical duty on Saturday Night Live. The song debuted at number one, becoming both Glover's first number one and top ten single in the United States.[5] It features him both singing and rapping, drawing influence from trap music.[6] Its lyrics addressed a variety of topics including gun violence in the United States and being black in the United States,[7] while its provocative video, directed by Japanese-American filmmaker and frequent collaborator Hiro Murai, featured Glover performing a series of shootings before breaking into dance.[8]
On July 11, 2018, Glover released the EP Summer Pack which contained the songs "Summertime Magic" and "Feels Like Summer", the former of which is the lead single from Glover's forthcoming fourth studio album.[9] [10] The music video for "Feels Like Summer" was released on September 1, 2018, and features animated cameos from numerous prominent rappers and R&B vocalists. The video is meant to symbolize Glover's departure from the rap community[11] and depicts his animated rendition as he walks down a neighborhood street, passing by several big names like Will Smith, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Lil Wayne, and Michael Jackson.[12]
In September 2018, Glover made two previously unreleased songs, "Algorhythm" and "All Night", exclusively available to fans who bought tickets to his upcoming This Is America Tour.[13] "Algorhythm" was performed at every show on the tour, and was eventually released on his next studio album, 3.15.20. "All Night" was exclusively performed at the debut show in Atlanta, and only subsequently performed at Gambino's next PHAROS events.
During the first show of the tour in Atlanta, Glover confirmed that this is the last Gambino tour ever, telling the audience: "I love you forever for supporting me and coming out for this shit. Second, if you're in here, that means you bought a ticket, so you don't need to film this shit. Experience this shit. This is not a concert. This is fucking church. If you're not here to celebrate life, if you're not here to enjoy your time here, if you're just here to hear your favorite song, you should go home right now and do that. I'm here to have an experience with y'all tonight, ya feel me?"[14]
On September 23, 2018, Glover reportedly injured his foot during his show in Dallas, leaving the stage early and not performing an encore set.[15]
On December 17, 2018, the final stop for the This is America Tour, Glover revealed that his father, Donald Glover Sr., passed away. He told the audience: "I lost my father a couple weeks ago and I wanted to play him some of the new songs but he didn't want to hear them, because he was like, 'I know they're going to be great.'" It was reported that he was holding back tears. Glover added, "I'm not saying that to talk about music — I say that to talk about trust. That's what love is. I hope you guys get to feel that kind of love."[16] [17]
A few of the songs premiered in the live shows - namely "Atavista," "All Night," and "Human Sacrifice" - would not appear on Childish Gambino's fourth studio album, 3.15.20, making them exclusive to the tour until they appear on a future musical project by Glover.
Althea Legaspi of the Chicago Tribune wrote that Glover "offer[ed] a sacred space where love, loss, inequality and community were explored through song", and wrote that "this may be Glover's last hurrah as Childish Gambino, but the performance made a compelling case for seeking out his next incarnation."[18]
Karlton Jahmal of HotNewHipHop wrote that "Childish Gambino had the best concert I’ve witnesses since Yeezus, and hopefully, his retirement from touring is just a momentary lapse in judgment. A performance on this level will surely be missed."[19]
Alex Stedman of Variety wrote that "Gambino put on a show at Los Angeles’ the Forum that was at once spiritual and electric, a celebration of an eclectic discography and, hopefully, an exciting peek at what's to come."[20]
Charles Holmes of the Rolling Stone wrote that "The 'This Is America' Tour served as a symbolic funeral. It's a successful send-off for the Gambino moniker, and the hard-won development it represents, but not for Glover's music career. Donald Glover is still searching for himself as a musician, and made sure to provide a glimpse at what's yet to come."[21]
The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on September 6, 2018, at the Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth, Georgia.[26] It does not represent every concert for the duration of the tour.
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening act | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America[27] | |||||
| September 6, 2018 | Duluth | United States | Infinite Energy Arena | Rae Sremmurd | |
| September 8, 2018 | Chicago | United Center | |||
| September 10, 2018 | Toronto | Canada | Scotiabank Arena | ||
| September 12, 2018 | Boston | United States | TD Garden | ||
| September 14, 2018 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | |||
| September 15, 2018 | |||||
| September 18, 2018 | Philadelphia | Wells Fargo Center | |||
| September 19, 2018 | Washington, D.C. | Capital One Arena | |||
| September 22, 2018 | Houston | Toyota Center | |||
| September 23, 2018 | Dallas | American Airlines Center | |||
| December 2, 2018 | Nashville | Bridgestone Arena | Vince Staples | ||
| December 4, 2018 | Denver | Pepsi Center | |||
| December 7, 2018 | Vancouver | Canada | Rogers Arena | Rae Sremmurd | |
| December 11, 2018 | Oakland | United States | Oracle Arena | ||
| December 12, 2018 | San Jose | SAP Center | Vince Staples | ||
| December 15, 2018 | Glendale | Gila River Arena | |||
| December 16, 2018 | Inglewood | The Forum | Rae Sremmurd | ||
| December 17, 2018 | Vince Staples | ||||
| Europe[28] | |||||
| March 24, 2019 | London | England | The O Arena | H.E.R. | |
| March 25, 2019 | |||||
| March 27, 2019 | Paris | France | AccorHotels Arena | ||
| North American Festivals | |||||
| April 12, 2019 | Indio | United States | Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival | N/A | |
| April 19, 2019 | Indio | Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival | |||
| April 27, 2019 | Landover | Broccoli City Festival | |||
| June 14, 2019 | Manchester | Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival | |||
| Oceania | |||||
| July 14, 2019 | Perth | Australia | HBF Stadium | N/A | |
| July 17, 2019 | Melbourne | Rod Laver Arena | |||
| July 19, 2019 | Adelaide | Spin Off Festival | |||
| July 20, 2019 | Byron Bay | Splendour in the Grass 2019 | |||
| July 24, 2019 | Sydney | Qudos Bank Arena | |||
| North American Festivals | |||||
| August 2, 2019 | Chicago | United States | Lollapalooza | N/A | |
| August 4, 2019 | Montreal | Canada | Osheaga Festival | ||
| August 9, 2019 | San Francisco | United States | Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival | ||
| October 5, 2019 | Austin | Austin City Limits | |||
| October 12, 2019 | Austin | Austin City Limits | |||
| < | --Date--> | < | --Location--> | < | --Venue--> | < | --Reason/Additional Info--> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 26, 2018 | Inglewood, California | The Forum | Rescheduled to December 16, 2018[29] | ||||
| September 27, 2018 | Oakland, California | Oracle Arena | Rescheduled to December 11, 2018 | ||||
| September 29, 2018 | Seattle, Washington | KeyArena | Cancelled | ||||
| September 30, 2018 | Vancouver, Canada | Rogers Arena | Rescheduled to December 7, 2018 | ||||
| October 2, 2018 | San Jose, California | SAP Center | Rescheduled to December 12, 2018 | ||||
| October 3, 2018 | Inglewood, California | The Forum | Rescheduled to December 17, 2018 | ||||
| October 5, 2018 | Glendale, Arizona | Gila River Arena | Rescheduled to December 15, 2018 | ||||
| October 7, 2018 | Austin, Texas | Zilker Park | Cancelled. This concert was a part of the "Austin City Limits Music Festival"[30] | ||||
| October 9, 2018 | Denver, Colorado | Pepsi Center | Rescheduled to December 4, 2018 | ||||
| October 12, 2018 | Nashville, Tennessee | Bridgestone Arena | Rescheduled to December 2, 2018 | ||||
| October 14, 2018 | Austin, Texas | Zilker Park | Cancelled. This concert was a part of the "Austin City Limits Music Festival" | ||||
| October 30, 2018 | Paris, France | Zénith Paris | Rescheduled to March 27, 2019 and moved to the AccorHotels Arena | ||||
| November 4, 2018 | London, England | The O Arena | Rescheduled to March 24, 2019 | ||||
| November 8, 2018 | Perth, Australia | HBF Stadium | Cancelled[31] | ||||
| November 10, 2018 | Melbourne, Australia | Sidney Myer Music Bowl | Cancelled | ||||
| November 14, 2018 | Sydney, Australia | Sydney Opera House Forecourt | Cancelled | ||||
| November 15, 2018 | Sydney, Australia | Sydney Opera House Forecourt | Cancelled | ||||
| November 17, 2018 | Canberra, Australia | Commonwealth Park | Cancelled. This concert was a part of "Spilt Milk" | ||||
| Venue | City | Tickets sold / Available | Gross revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Square Garden | New York City | 27,678 / 27,678 (100%) | $2,557,840[32] | |
| The Forum | Inglewood | 26,673 / 26,673 (100%) | $2,447,306[33] | |
| The O Arena | London | 31,657 / 35,041 (90%) | $2,070,440[34] | |
| Oracle Arena | Oakland | 12,296 / 13,306 (92%) | $1,262,651[35] | |
| Scotiabank Arena | Toronto | 14,305 / 14,305 (100%) | $1,254,870[36] | |
| Capital One Arena | Washington, D.C. | 12,556 / 13,193 (95%) | $1,192,435[37] | |
| Rogers Arena | Vancouver | 12,263 / 13,161 (93%) | $1,054,929 | |
| Toyota Center | Houston | 9,965 / 11,544 (86%) | $1,048,518[38] | |
| American Airlines Center | Dallas | 10,986 / 11,747 (94%) | $1,037,757 | |
| Pepsi Center | Denver | 10,949 / 12,112 (90%) | $932,758[39] | |
| Gila River Arena | Glendale | 11,328 / 12,273 (92%) | $829,772 | |
| AccorHotels Arena | Paris | 10,051 / 14,471 (69%) | $596,884[40] | |
| TOTAL | 190,707 / 205,504 (93%) | $16,286,160 | ||