Childish Gambino to Play Bridgestone Arena Sept. 1

It’s been almost six years since Donald Glover last properly toured as his alt hip hop and r&b, genre-bending musical alter-ego Childish Gambino, when he last played Nashville at Bridgestone Arena, and six since he headlined a host of prominent musical festivals, including nearby Bonnaroo. On the recorded side, he hasn’t been much more active, following up 2016 boundary-pushing, musically-reinventing modern classic “Awaken, My Love!” with his biggest single ever, “This Is America,” in 2018, a two-song EP, Summer Pack, that same year, and a somewhat raw surprise drop fourth album, 3.15.20, at the onset of the pandemic, which was just rereleased last week in “finished form” as Atavista, now complete with song titles and more polished production.

That’s not to say Glover hasn’t been busy outside of his work as Childish Gambino, however. That 2018 tour came on the heels of his debut as iconic character Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, which Donald and his brother Stephen are actively working on a Lando-centric sequel to. The following year, he wrote, produced, and starred in musical film Guava Island with Rihanna, and also voiced Simba in Disney’s mega-hit live acton The Lion King, a role which he’ll reprise later this year in prequel Mufasa. Even more active on the small screen, Glover concluded his brilliant and award winning FX show Atlanta (season two aired in 2018, around the same time as Solo) with not one, but two full seasons in 2022, before interrogating fandom and obsession the following year with dark comedy Swarm (which he co-created and directed the pilot for, but does not appear onscreen), and earlier this year co-creating and co-staring in globetrotting spy thriller Mr. & Mrs. Smith, part of an overall deal he inked with Amazon.

Though it seems unlikely he’ll ever step away from music in any permanent capacity, Glover has been expressing an intention to retire the Childish Gambino moniker since even before that last tour and record. Something that initially began as a casual side project (even the name famously came from a Wu Tang name generator site) along with Community composer Ludwig Göransson (who’s not only stuck with Glover over the years, but has branched out to work on huge projects like The Mandalorian, Oppenheimer, and Black Panther), Childish Gambino has been one of Glover’s longest artistic endeavors, and one that seems to have transcended its course and come to, at least in his mind, a natural stopping point. So it shouldn’t come as a huge shock that, along with Atavista, Donald has announced that one final Childish Gambino album will arrive later this year, called Bando Stone in the New World and said to act as the soundtrack to an upcoming film (though little information is available about said film).

In support, Childish Gambino will embark on what is implied- if not outright stated- to be his final tour, The New World Tour, spanning a massive trek of North American dates throughout the late summer and fall, before heading abroad for a leg that stretches into next year. And, of course, we’re thrilled to see Nashville on the itinerary, with the multifaceted artist set to return to Bridgestone Arena on Sept. 1 with Willow, marking just his fourth Music City show ever, after the aforementioned 2018 Bridgestone stop, an appearance at Vanderbilt’s Commodore Quake in 2012, and a headliner at Cannery Ballroom in 2011. Tickets to the show- again, potentially his last in Nashville, at least under the Childish Gambino moniker- are available now right here. Watch new video for Atavista track “Little Foot Big Foot” and check out a full list of North American dates below!

Aug. 11 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center
Aug. 12 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
Aug. 14 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
Aug. 15 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
Aug. 17 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Aug. 18 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Aug. 20 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Aug. 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Aug. 23 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Aug. 24 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Arena
Aug. 26 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Aug. 27 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Aug. 29 – Washington, D.C. – Capital One Arena
Aug. 30 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
Sept. 1 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Sept. 2 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Sept. 4 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
Sept. 5 – Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena
Sept. 7 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
Sept. 8 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Sept. 10 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Sept. 11 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Sept. 13 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Sept. 14 – Salt Lake City, UT – Delta Center
Sept. 16 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
Sept. 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
Sept. 19 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
Sept. 21 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Sept. 23 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Rogers Arena
Sept. 24 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
Sept. 25 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Sept. 27 – Calgary, Alberta – Scotiabank Saddledome
Sept. 29 – Edmonton, Alberta – Rogers Place
Oct. 2 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Oct. 3 – Chicago, IL – United Center