Tems, Runtown Deliver Intimate Two-Night Performances as Spotify Surround Sound Lands in Lagos
Spotify has brought Tems and Runtown closer to their fans with two nights of its Surround Sound live series in Lagos, giving a select group of Premium listeners an up-close look at two of Nigeria’s biggest stars.
The performances took place at Livespot on September 25 and 26 in an intimate, in-the-round setting. The shows were not open to the public and had no ticket sale. Spotify instead invited chosen Premium subscribers directly, based on their listening activity. Rifumo Mdaka of Spotify said the room is intentionally intimate with a fixed capacity, and that listening signals were used to reach selected listeners in Lagos.
Tems opened the series with a set that revisited her debut EP For Broken Ears, performing “Ice T”, “Damages”, “Burning” and “Free Mind”. She also reached back to earlier releases such as “Mr Rebel” and “Try Me” before moving on to newer songs including “Love Me JeJe” and “What You Need”. She turned the microphone toward the audience and invited them to sing along, which made the selected fans part of the recorded performance. One attendee wrote on X that her rendition of “Burning” would stay imprinted in their heart.
Runtown headlined the second night with a career-spanning set. He opened with “Lagos to Kampala” and “Gallardo” before moving through “For Life”, “International Badman Killa”, “Unleash” and “Kini Issue”. His 2016 hit “Mad Over You” became the moment of the night, as he performed it twice, including as the closing song, with the crowd singing along.
He said it was his first time performing with his band in 10 years, thanked his fans across West Africa for a decade of support, and pointed out Ghanaian influencer Gisela Amponsah in the audience.
Surround Sound is a live performance format that Spotify launched from Sub-Saharan Africa. It pairs artists and fans at close range and records the shows as full-length music films. Both Lagos performances were filmed and will be released as “Surround Sound presents Tems” and “Surround Sound presents Runtown”. Spotify has not yet announced release dates.
