Spotify held RNB X Live on Nov. 1 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas, its first standalone R&B festival, with Erykah Badu and H.E.R. headlining and Live Nation Urban producing, Spotify said.
RNB X Live Dallas shows a streaming service moving from playlist to promoter. Spotify named the night after its flagship R&B playlist, gave Premium subscribers the first shot at tickets and said it will release select performances exclusively on its own service.
Who Performed at RNB X Live
Badu returned to her hometown after what Spotify’s announcement called her first project in 11 years. H.E.R. made a rare return to headlining live shows and debuted two unreleased songs, “Did You Miss Me” and “Friends.” Badu performed “On & On,” and H.E.R. performed “Could’ve Been.”
Dallas native rjtheweirdo opened the night. Destin Conrad, kwn and Jai’len Josey rounded out the bill, all supported through Spotify programs including Artists To Watch and Fresh Finds. Conrad joined kwn for “all fours” and “DADAMAN.” Miles Caton appeared as a surprise guest during H.E.R.’s set, and The Alchemist joined Badu. Spotify called it the biggest RNB X live event to date. The earlier ones were RNB X After Hours in Washington, D.C., and RNB X Live: The UK Sound in New York and San Francisco in fall 2025.
How Spotify Sold and Packaged the Show
Spotify announced the festival on Sept. 8. Premium top fans had a pre-sale at noon Central that day, and general sale opened Sept. 11, three days later. Premium subscribers at the show received merchandise made with Curves by Sean Brown. Brandon Payano, R&B lead for artist partnerships at Spotify, said that “R&B has always been a genre built on community” and called the festival a natural next step after the company’s earlier shows with Live Nation Urban. Alaysia Sierra, Spotify’s head of editorial for R&B, said the lineup spans icons and emerging artists so the genre’s past, present and future share a stage. The best argument for the model is the bill itself: a Dallas opener, three rising artists and a hometown headliner shared a stage with an artist returning to live headlining after several years.
What Spotify is Doing for Emerging Artists Next
The festival is one of two artist-facing events Spotify announced on Nov. 2. The first Fresh Finds Summit runs Nov. 4 and 5 in Los Angeles for the inaugural class of Fresh Finds Forward, the program Spotify says supports about 10,000 emerging independent artists each year. John Legend, Ryan Tedder and María Zardoya are among the speakers, according to Spotify.
The program covers masterclasses, live song feedback and conversations with artists, songwriters and executives on songwriting, touring, money, building a team and mental health. Spotify will film the sessions and share them virtually with the program’s thousands of artists. Joe Hadley, Spotify’s global head of music content and partnerships, said a Fresh Finds placement can be “the moment an artist gets heard for the first time.” The summit opens Nov. 4.
