Reggae heavyweight Buju Banton says he’s pushing back eight dates of his current “The Overcomer” tour to 2025, disappointing fans across the United States.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the Grammy-winning artist confirmed that upcoming gigs in Boston, slated for 30 August at the TD Garden Arena, Philadelphia (September 1), and Hartford, Connecticut (September 6), have been scrapped from this year’s calendar due to “scheduling conflicts beyond my control.”
These cancellations follow an earlier announcement this month, which postponed five September dates in Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Chicago. While Banton’s team has confirmed the rescheduling, they have yet to unveil new dates for the affected shows.
“I want to ensure I deliver the highest caliber of an experience and my fans are my highest priority. I look forward to sharing the new dates for these cities in the very near future. Thank you to all the reggae lovers across the world for showing up for us all,” the Untold Stories singer wrote in the post.
However, in a subsequent Instagram Live session on Tuesday, Banton’s tone shifted dramatically as he lashed out at “haters” who wanted to stop him from earning.
“Oonu sit down and all oonu do is try tear down oonu one another. Yu cannot tear I down, mi tear down already, ah build me a build now,” he said, while flashing a middle finger.
The artist went on to defend his work ethic and success, using colourful language and homophobic slurs. “Mi God is real, and mi wuk and sweat fi mine because mi anno batty bwoy, mi no draw mi ass nowhere fi mine, mi work hard. So when oonu out de de a hate, memba this. To Buju Banton, most of oonu caan relate, ah God mi say, go say something mek we can hear it,” Buju railed.
“Mi good people, mi push back some dates, becaw Connecticut and Boston too close. And mi nuh wan no conflict, so mi push dem forward,” he explained.
Buju continued: “Mi no gone nowhere cause dem caan do it like Buju, good over evil. Dem cannot stop my love, your love or the Father love, so wah dem ah go do? Dem a go use dem f-ckery fi divide us, it caan work. We have been divided before, now we solid-er. Mi love oonu and see oonu tonight inna Washington D.C.”
“Haters eat your heart out,” he added.
In an interview with DancehallMag, promoter-radio show host Paul ‘Notorious VOG’ Parara, expressed disappointment in the performance of Banton’s Overcomer Tour, attributing the struggles to a series of strategic missteps made by the artist’s management team.
VOG said that the tour’s organizers should have started with smaller venues to build momentum and hype gradually. Instead, they opted for larger venues, which resulted in low ticket sales and empty seats. He also argued, among other things, that the ticket prices for the tour were too high, deterring potential attendees.
The Overcomer tour marks Buju Banton’s triumphant return to U.S. soil following his deportation after a drug-related conviction. The Kingston native was released from Georgia’s McRae Correctional Facility in 2018.
The singer kicked off the tour in Fort Lauderdale at the Amerant Bank Arena on August 23 and at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on August 25. Although these venues were reportedly not at total capacity, Buju’s tour follows two well-attended shows at the UBS Arena in New York last month.
He will continue the tour in Atlanta, GA, at the State Farm Arena on September 8, and in Brooklyn, NY, at the Barclays Center on November 17.
The Accompong Town Maroon Culture group is expected to join Banton on stage tonight (August 27) at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
On Tuesday, Accompong Maroon Chief Richard Currie shared video clips on Instagram showing himself, his ministers, and members of the Maroon performance group disembarking an aircraft in Washington, DC.
Chief Currie announced their arrival, revealing that they would join Buju, who had affirmed his identity as a Moore Town Maroon in 2021 onstage.
“Tonight the Sovereign State of Accompong will make history by joining the living legend @bujubanton on stage at his ‘OverComer’ Tour in Washington DC @capitalonearena. Greetings to the United States and the Washington DC Massive. Greetings to the Moors, Maroons, Tainos, Native Americans, Africans, Rastafarians, and all other indigenous peoples. Tonight Accompong will make its voice heard!” he noted.
“Tonight we write another chapter of Maroon history! Tonight the Accompong Maroons and our Government will affirm our rightful position and share our culture of love, truth, peace, freedom, and Justice with the World. We Are Kindah, One Family… We Are Nyankipong Pickibu, Children of the Almighty… DO NOT MISS THE ACCOMPONG MAROON CULTURE GROUP WITH BUJU BANTON LIVE TONIGHT!!! I am Paramount Chief Richard Currie and we are the Sovereign State of Accompong,” he added.
Buju has been a steadfast supporter of Chief Currie since 2021, when the Munro College old boy sought to lead the Accompong Maroons. In February that year, the African Pride artiste publicly endorsed Currie, who was bidding to unseat then-leader Colonel Ferron Williams.
Later that year, in October, Buju donated two horses and a tractor to the St. Elizabeth community to support the Maroons’ sustainable development and self-reliance initiatives.
