Spotify and Live Nation Urban Launch RNB X Live Festival in Dallas

Spotify and Live Nation Urban will host RNB X Live: Dallas on November 1 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas. The one-day event is the first standalone R&B concert produced by Spotify and serves as the largest live extension of its RNB X editorial playlist to date. The venue, which holds up to 8,000 people, is booked and promoted exclusively by Live Nation. Select performances from the festival will be streamed exclusively on the platform.

The festival features headlining performances from Dallas native Erykah Badu and H.E.R. Badu’s appearance follows the August 28 release of Before the World Blows, a collaborative album with The Alchemist that marked her first project since the 2015 mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone. Spotify has billed H.E.R.’s set as a rare live return, as the artist has not headlined her own shows for several years.

The bill also includes rising artists kwn, Destin Conrad, and Jai’Len Josey. These performers were previously supported through Spotify editorial programs including Fresh Finds and Artists to Watch. Alaysia Sierra, Spotify’s Head of Editorial for R&B, stated that the lineup reflects the expansiveness of the genre, which she noted shapes culture in ways that cannot be defined by a single sound or artist type.

The festival follows a widening relationship between Spotify and Live Nation. In May, the companies established a multi-year agreement for "Reserved," a feature that holds up to two tickets for an artist's most dedicated fans among Premium subscribers. Spotify currently works with more than 40 ticketing partners and reports that its live music efforts have driven over $1.5 billion in ticket sales for artists.

Internal data shows that “super listeners”—the top 2% of an artist’s monthly streaming audience—account for 50% of all artist ticket sales through the platform. Brandon Payano, R&B Lead for Artist Partnerships at Spotify, said the partnership with Live Nation Urban grew from a shared belief in creating community-based opportunities. This event follows previous collaborations, such as the RNB X Live: The UK Sound shows held last fall.