The Harlem rapper confirms four arena shows in December following a record-breaking European run and the release of his first album in eight years.
by Paul Cashmere
A$AP Rocky will return to Australian stages for the first time in eight years this December, bringing his Don’t Be Dumb World Tour to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth after a sold-out European and UK arena run that rewrote several regional records for hip-hop.
The Australian leg opens at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Saturday 5 December, continues at Sydney’s Afterpay Arena on Wednesday 9 December and Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Monday 14 December, then closes at Perth’s RAC Arena on Thursday 17 December. Live Nation is promoting the dates, which mark Rocky’s first performances in the country since 2018.
The announcement lands immediately after Rocky wrapped a 25-date European and UK itinerary that took him through 19 countries. That run established him as the first rap artist to play eight arena shows across Central and Eastern Europe. It also produced the fastest-selling rap concert ever in Greece and the biggest arena ticket sales for a rap act in Zagreb, Belgrade and Sofia, while becoming the highest-grossing hip-hop tour the region has seen.
In Paris, the tour schedule collided with Rocky’s fashion calendar. Hours before his Accor Arena concert he presented the AWGE SS27 collection titled Anti War Global Economics. The same-day event drew 6,000 people, the largest attendance recorded for a fashion show, before Rocky stepped straight onto the stage for the sold-out performance that followed.
The Australian shows will give local audiences their first chance to hear material from Don’t Be Dumb, Rocky’s fourth studio album and his first full-length release in eight years. The project arrived with more than one million Spotify pre-saves and sold over 130,000 vinyl copies ahead of release. Cover artwork came from Tim Burton, while the tracklist features contributions from BossMan Dlow, Brent Faiyaz, Danny Elfman, Doechii, Gorillaz, Jessica Pratt, Jon Batiste, Slay Squad, Thundercat, Tyler, The Creator, Westside Gunn and will.i.am.
Born Rakim Mayers, Rocky first broke through in 2011 and has since accumulated more than 25 billion streams and five billion YouTube views for his videos. His first two albums, Long.Live.A$AP and At.Long.Last.A$AP, both debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The 2018 follow-up Testing passed one billion streams worldwide and topped iTunes charts in 16 countries on release. Between albums he has expanded into acting, appearing in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest and Mary Bronstein’s Golden Globe-winning If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, both produced by A24, and co-chaired the 2025 Met Gala under the theme Superfine: Tailoring Black Style while showcasing his own AWGE designs.
Rocky continues to operate as creative director for Ray-Ban and Puma and has fronted campaigns for Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Gucci, Dior and others. Through AWGE he has launched partnerships with Marine Serre, Amina Muaddi, Selfridges and JW Anderson, and has helped introduce artists including Playboi Carti and slowthai. The agency staged its second Paris Fashion Week presentation in June 2025.
The December Australian dates therefore sit at the intersection of Rocky’s music, fashion and performance worlds. After an eight-year absence, the shows offer fans the chance to experience the new album in arenas that will also revisit earlier catalogue material that has defined his career since the early 2010s.
DON’T BE DUMB WORLD TOUR – AUSTRALIA 2026 DATES:
Saturday 5 December – Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Wednesday 9 December – Sydney, Afterpay Arena
Monday 14 December – Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
Thursday 17 December – Perth, RAC Arena
Tickets available via asaprocky.com and livenation.com.au. Presales commence Wednesday 14 October; general onsale Friday 16 October at 1pm local.
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