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Spotify's Hidden Ticket: Only 'Top Listeners' Can Attend These Hometown Shows

Spotify is launching its "Hometown" concert series, with Jorja Smith, Nemzzz, and Beabadoobee returning to their hometowns for shows this September. Tickets won't be sold to the public — only each artist's top listeners will be invited.

Jo-Yu Tsai, Fashion Editor
Spotify's Hidden Ticket: Only 'Top Listeners' Can Attend These Hometown Shows

There's no ticketing site, no queue to fight through — there's only one way to get into these three shows: be recognized by Spotify as a "top listener." Spotify has announced a new series of one-night-only concerts called "Hometown," bringing Jorja Smith, Nemzzz, and Beabadoobee back to the cities where they grew up. Audience selection will be based on streaming data from the platform.

All three shows are scheduled for September, each overlapping with the promo cycle for a new album. Jorja Smith kicks things off on September 6 in her hometown of Walsall, with her third album, *What Are The Odds*, set for release on Friday, August 21. Nemzzz follows on September 12 in Manchester, with his solo album *Locked In* dropping September 4. Beabadoobee closes out the series on September 17 in London, with her new album *Pylon* landing the very next day, September 18.

According to Spotify, none of these three shows will have public ticket sales — the guest list will be curated based on each listener's streaming data for the three artists. Full concert footage will premiere exclusively on Spotify a few weeks after each show. Beyond the performances themselves, Spotify says it will also partner with all three artists on community-focused initiatives to support young people in their respective hometowns, though further details haven't been announced yet.

All three artists shared what their hometowns mean to them. Jorja Smith said: "Walsall is where I started writing and recording music as a teenager, and the people, experiences, and sense of community there still shape my music today." Nemzzz added: "I've always been passionate about celebrating Manchester and representing where I'm from, so doing Hometown with Spotify feels like a natural extension of that." Beabadoobee said: "London has always felt like home to me — it's where I started finding my people, started making music, started playing small venues, and slowly figured out what I wanted to do. So Hometown feels especially special to me."

The same day her new album drops, Jorja Smith will also co-headline All Points East in London alongside Tems. In a four-star review, NME called *What Are The Odds* "Smith's most comfortable outing yet," capturing a decade's worth of spotlight-induced chaos, desire, regret, and armor, and describing the album as "endearing, brutally honest, and ultimately still fun."

Earlier this month, Beabadoobee gave the title track off *Pylon* its live debut in an unplugged set at Red Rocks. She'll also embark on her first-ever arena tour, "Powerlines," this November, hitting Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester, and London — with tickets still available for select dates.

Spotify has yet to reveal further details about the specific venues or audience invitation process for the three Hometown shows.

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