Last fall, Donald Glover was supposed to go on a big tour for Bando Stone & The New World, which he’d been saying would be his final album under his Childish Gambino moniker. After suddenly postponing a bunch of those shows, however, Glover canceled the rest of the tour, citing an unspecified health crisis that required surgery and a long recovery time. Last night at Camp Flog Gnaw marked Glover’s first live performance since then, during which he revealed the exact reason he had to step away: At just 40 years old, he’d suffered a stroke then learned he had a hole in his heart.
During his set at Tyler, The Creator’s annual Dodger Stadium shebang, Glover took a moment to address those health concerns. He said that he began experiencing some gnarly head pain ahead of his previous show in New Orleans back in September 2024, but decided to do the show anyway. Afterwards, it became apparent to him that this wasn’t a regular headache: “I couldn’t really see well, so when we went to Houston I went to the hospital and the doctor was like, ‘You had a stroke,'” Glover explained. “And the first thing I thought was like, ‘Oh, here I am still copying Jamie Foxx…’ That’s really, like, the second thing. The first thing was like, ‘I’m letting everybody down.'”
Glover continued: “I know that’s not true. But I’d broken my foot, I always promised Ireland I’m gonna be there, and I still haven’t been. And they found a hole in my heart. So I had this surgery, and then I had to have another surgery. So, you know, they say everybody has two lives — and the second life starts when you realize you have one. You got one life, guys… You should be living your life how you want, because [then] it can only get better.” Above the crowd there was a drone show in the shape of an anatomical heart.
Luckily, Glover seemed like he was doing well during Camp Flog Gnaw. He let fans vote on his setlist, so it was a real career-spanner with hits and fan-favorites going all the way back to the Camp days. He also covered “Prototype” by OutKast, whom he just inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. See highlights from his set below; his so-called “Where Have I Been Monologue” begins around the 20-minute mark.
SETLIST:
“Survive”
“I. Crawl”
“Psilocybae (Millennial Love)”
“To Be Hunted”
“Me And Your Mama”
“Prototype” (OutKast cover)
“L.E.S.”
“Heartbeat”
“Freaks And Geeks”
“Sober”
“Feels Like Summer”
“IV. Sweatpants”
“This Is America”
“Bonfire”
“V. 3005”
“Do Ya Like”
“Redbone”
“Lithonia”
