In keeping with Take Care’s confessional, wrapped-in-a-cashmere-sweater vibe, sort-of-rapper Drake has decided that he wants its upcoming tour to have a similar intimacy. “I fought really hard for this tour because, of course, they want me to go get the big bucks, go into the stadiums and cash out,” Drake told MTV News, and fortunately his management team listened to him, and he wasn’t forced to “catch a body” or anything, as that is something that he totally does now. Instead, Drake’s upcoming Club Paradise tour isn’t about cashing out in huge stadiums in big cities; it’s about cashing out in moderately huge stadiums in some pretty big cities. Seriously, I don’t know what Drake is on about here: Speaking for my own town’s venue, for example, Austin's Frank Erwin Center holds just under 18,000 people. We’re not exactly all going to fit on Drake’s bearskin rug, or be group-hugging his giant stuffed owl, or whatever he’s got planned, is all I’m saying.
Anyway, while the below list is laden with plenty of other arenas and civic centers, you do have to admit that he’s hitting a few unexpected cities (Drake’s concert automatically qualifies as the most “gangsta” thing to ever hit my hometown of Arlington, for one). He’s also using the tour to give a leg-up to some just-bubbling-under-the-radar artists, A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar, who will play all of Drake’s U.S. concerts before he ditches them for a European leg beginning in March.
U.S. DATES
February 14 – Miami, FL @ Bank United Center
February 15 – Gainesville, FL @ Stephen C. O'Connell Center
February 17 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
February 18 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
February 21 – Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
February 22 – Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
February 24 – Tallahassee, FL @ Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
February 25 – New Orleans, LA @ UNO Lakefront Arena
February 27 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
February 28 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Arena
March 1 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
March 2 – Arlington, TX @ College Park Center
March 4 – Tuscon, AZ @ Tucson Arena
March 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Galen Center
March 8 – Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
March 10 – San Jose, CA @ Event Center
March 11 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
EUROPEAN DATES (via Pitchfork)
March 24 – Dublin, Ireland – O2 Dublin
March 26 – London, England – The O2
March 29 – Sheffield, England – Motorpoint Arena Sheffield
March 30 – Cardiff, Wales – Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
April 1 – Manchester, England – M.E.N. Arena
April 2 – Glasgow, Scotland – Glasgow SECC Hall 4
April 5 – Paris, France – Palais Omnisport de Bercy
April 7 – Brussels, Belgium – Vorst Nationaal
April 8 – Amsterdam, Holland – Heineken Music Hall
April 10 – Frankfurt, Germany – Jahrhunderthalle
April 12- Berlin, Germany – Max Schleming Halle
April 13 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Valby Hallen
April 15 – Stockholm, Sweden – Ericsson Globe
April 16 – Oslo, Norway – Oslo Spektrum
April 19 – Birmingham, England – LG Arena Birmingham
April 22 – Liverpool, England – Liverpool Echo Arena
April 23 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, England – Metro Radio Arena
April 25 – Nottingham, England – Capital FM Arena Nottingham