A$AP Rocky announces five-date Australia and New Zealand tour for December

A$AP Rocky will return to Australia and New Zealand this December for five arena shows, his first dates in the region in eight years.

The run is part of his Don’t Be Dumb World Tour. It opens on Dec. 5 at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, according to details reported by Billboard. It continues at Sydney’s Afterpay Arena on Dec. 9, Auckland’s Spark Arena on Dec. 12, Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Dec. 14 and Perth’s RAC Arena on Dec. 17.

Melbourne starts the trip, with Sydney and Auckland in the middle weeks before the tour heads to Brisbane and then closes in Perth. The five cities cover Australia’s east and west coasts plus New Zealand’s largest market.

Tickets go on general sale at 1 p.m. local time on Friday, Oct. 16. Presales will run earlier in the week, including artist, Vodafone, Mastercard, Live Nation and Westfield presales. Live Nation Australia also lists a ticket secure window for the Australian dates from midday on Wednesday, Oct. 14 until midday on Friday, Oct. 16.

The run supports Don’t Be Dumb, released in January as Rocky’s first album since 2018’s Testing. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the US chart that ranks the week’s most popular albums. It moved 123,000 streaming equivalent album units in its opening week, the measure that converts streams into album sales.

That total gave Rocky his third Billboard 200 chart-topper and his first in more than a decade. In Australia, the album topped the ARIA Hip-Hop/R&B Albums chart, the local genre ranking compiled by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Lead single “Punk Rocky” reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.

Guests across the album include Tyler, the Creator, Doechii, Gorillaz, Brent Faiyaz, Thundercat and will.i.am. Filmmaker Tim Burton created the cover artwork.

The new dates follow a sold-out 25-date run across the United Kingdom and Europe, where Rocky performed in 19 countries. Promoter Live Nation said the European leg set several regional marks, including the fastest-selling rap show in Greece and the largest arena sales for a rap artist in Zagreb, Belgrade and Sofia.

For fans in Australia and New Zealand, the gap matters. Eight years is a long time between tours. These five nights bring the new songs to local stages for the first time.