Photo: Romeo C. Davis
Buju Banton called on a few close friends to help him kick off his first-ever arena tour.
Thousands of fans flocked to the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. on Friday night, August 23, to experience the reggae legend's first night of his "Overcomer Tour." The show began with an opening set from Haitian-American crooner Fridayy, who delivered a soothing batch of his greatest hits. The Philadelphia native belted out songs like "Done For Me" off his 2023 self-titled album and "Don't Give Up On Me" from his Lost In Melody project. He couldn't leave without performing his iconic hook from DJ Khaled's "God Did."
Fans throughout the arena erupted with cheer once the Shiloh Band hit the stage and delivered the opening melodies to "Destiny." Buju began to sing the song from backstage before he emerged in a three-piece golden suit. Buju gave the fans a performance of a lifetime beginning with a deep dive into his extensive catalog. He commanded the stage with his energetic dance moves while he sang songs like "Not An Easy Road" from his 'Til Shiloh album and "Trust" off his Upside Down LP.
Midway through the show, Buju wanted to share the stage with his good friend DJ Khaled. The pair have collaborated on various songs over the past decade since their first song "Killing Me" on Khaled's 2010 Victory album. For the past decade, Khaled has included Buju on various projects including the Bad Boys For Life soundtrack the Miami resident produced in 2020 and "These Streets Know My Name" from Khaled's GOD DID LP. With We The Best's DJ Nasty on the turntables, Khaled performed a medley of hits including "All I Do Is Win."
"I've had many people come into my life over the years," Buju told the crowd. "Some come and some go, and few are consistent. Tonight I want to share my stage with a brother whose friendship has been consistent, and I don't have to question. We may look different, but his heart is in the right place — I think."
Later on in the show, Buju stunned fans with his stellar performance of songs off his new album Born For Greatness. The 17-track project holds fresh collaborations with Stephen Marley, Victoria Monét and Snoop Dogg. The aforementioned guests didn't make it out to this show, but Buju did bring out some acts that brought smiles to his day-one fans' faces. After performing the title track from his new album, Buju welcomed Wayne Wonder to the stage.
The international reggae sensation came out to the tune of their classic collaboration "Bonafide Love." The duo danced and performed the song together as if they dropped it yesterday. Buju let Wonder stay on stage with him to perform his version of "Forever Young" with the Shiloh Band. Towards the end of his set, Buju slowed things down and brought out another special guest — Morgan Heritage's Gramps Morgan. The iconic Jamaican artists had fans in their feelings as they delivered their hit "23rd Psalm."
Buju Banton is set to bring his tour to 13 other cities around the U.S. including Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago. The tour will officially end in Brooklyn on November 17. Buju previously gave fans a taste of what to expect from the tour during his "Long Walk To Freedom" concert in New York City last month. The two-night, sold-out event went down at the UBS Arena with surprise appearances from Fat Joe and Remy Ma.
Check out more scenes from the first night of Buju Banton's "Overcomer Tour" and watch him talk about the tour in an interview with 103.5 The Beat's Papa Keith below.