Spotify's 'Hometown' Series Sends Beabadoobee, Jorja Smith and Nemzzz Back to Their Roots

Spotify has announced a three-part live performance series called Hometown, headlined by Beabadoobee, Jorja Smith and Nemzzz, with each artist playing a show in the city or town that shaped them. Jorja Smith opens the series in Walsall, near Birmingham, on September 6. Nemzzz follows in Manchester on September 12, and Beabadoobee closes it in London on September 17. Venues had not yet been announced at the time of the report. (Billboard)

The timing is no accident. Each show lands within days of a new album release. Smith's third studio album, What Are The Odds, is scheduled for August 21. Nemzzz's record Locked In arrives September 4. Beabadoobee's LP Pylon drops September 18 — the day after her London performance. For Beabadoobee, Pylon is the follow-up to This Is How Tomorrow Moves, her 2024 album that picked up two BRIT Award nominations.

Spotify is putting its most engaged listeners in the room. Top listeners of each Hometown artist will be invited to attend the performances, which will later be released as exclusive concert films on the platform — a way of turning streaming loyalty into a tangible, in-person experience before the footage reaches everyone else.

The series also has a community dimension. Spotify will partner with each artist on supporting local initiatives, including donations to youth organisations in their respective areas. Beabadoobee's involvement is the most detailed so far: she will support The Avenues, a specialist social care charity based in west London. Details for Smith's and Nemzzz's community partners have not yet been specified.

Taken together, the three shows thread an album-release week, a fan-facing live event and a charity push into a single rollout — one that ties each artist's new record to the place they came from, rather than a standard promotional circuit. The concert films will extend the reach well beyond the invited audience.