Childish Gambino electrified Detroit as thousands gathered for the musician and actor’s performance at Little Caesars Arena Saturday night. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Donald Glover announced that he is finished with his “Childish Gambino” alias. In a final tribute to his long-held alter ego, Glover left it all on the stage when he performed his sixth album Bando Stone and The New World.
R&B artist Willow opened the show with the song “home” off her new album Empathogen. Her swooping voice mixed with instrumental riffing eased the crowd that was anticipating Gambino.
Willow performs at Little Caesars Saturday night.
Ruby Klawans/Daily. Buy this photo.
While the audience was gathered around the main stage, Gambino ran onto the second stage in an attempt to throw off the audience . He came out hot in a full black leather bodysuit and a helmet, which was attached to the stage. Gambino’s full body rapid movements matched the intense upbeatness of his first song, “H3@RT$ W3RE M3@NT T0 F7¥,” embodying the swiftness of his performance.
Gambino proceeded to run through the crowd, interacting with fans and giving them the full concert experience. He stopped to take selfies and record TikToks while praising his opening artist Willow. Gambino’s show institutes new light bender technology which interacts with his bodysuit. Each night, he continues to innovate his shows playing with this technology as he has with his music throughout his career.
Gambino performed a mix of his classics like “Redbone” and “This is America” along with new hits like “Lithonia.” Throughout the night, he interacted with fans, quizzing them on their knowledge and offering a choice between the songs “III. Urn” and “II. Shadows,” to which “Shadows” won after a contest of more boisterous applause. Gambino continued to tease the crowd, urging them to keep up the energy by saying, “I want them to feel this in Chicago.”
Although Gambino brought out three backup dancers, he performed solo for most of his show on stage. Highlighted by his new light-binder technology, Gambino’s dance moves were radiated by the light. Gambino continues to use R&B and hip-hop to mix serious situations with lightheartedness to create a new sound that resonated with the audience as they screamed lyrics back towards the stage. Although the audience held bittersweet feelings for Gambino’s final appearance, Gambino shone bright enough for the audience to forget.
Gambino performs at Little Caesars Arena Saturday night.
Ruby Klawans/Daily. Buy this photo.
Summer Managing Photo Editor can be reached at rklawans@umich.edu
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