Spotify hosted Karibu Night, a fashion-and-music event held at Heltz House in Nairobi on July 17, 2026, as part of day two of its 12-day Greasy Tunes programme. The event, hosted by Studio 18, featured a fashion showcase built around official Greasy Tunes merchandise and live performances by 10 Kenyan artists, according to a statement from Spotify.
The showcase was anchored on two merchandise items—an official Greasy Tunes jersey and scarf—designed by Studio 18. Spotify said designers within Studio 18 styled and reinterpreted the pieces into multiple looks inspired by the sounds and cultural references associated with Spotify’s Made In Kenya editorial playlist.
The activation forms part of Spotify’s wider push to connect streaming activity with offline cultural programming in Nairobi’s creative economy, where music, fashion, and live events increasingly overlap. For Kenyan businesses in entertainment, events, and consumer branding, such partnerships signal growing commercial opportunities around youth-focused experiences, merchandising, and artist discovery pipelines.
Spotify attributed the concept to performance trends among younger listeners. The company said Afropop listening grew 21% year-on-year among Kenya’s 18–24 listeners, and that 40% of Made In Kenya playlist listeners fall within the 18–24 age group. Spotify also said its June 2026 listening data showed that 18–24 listeners account for 53.7% of all streams in Nairobi, which it described as the highest Gen Z share among Nairobi, Lagos and Johannesburg.
“Made In Kenya is not just a playlist, it is a reflection of how Kenyan youth are shaping culture in real time,” said Bea Theron, Experiential Marketing lead for Spotify in Africa. “For Greasy Tunes, we wanted to take that energy beyond streaming and create moments where music could meet the other creative worlds it naturally lives alongside, including fashion. Karibu Night showed how strongly music, style and youth culture are connected in Nairobi.”
Studio 18 said it designed the merchandise to extend beyond a single night, as brands increasingly treat limited-run apparel as both marketing and a revenue line in the creative sector. “The jersey and scarf were designed as pieces that could live beyond a single event,” said Brandon Zamani, Studio 18 co-Founder. “For Karibu Night, it was exciting to see different designers within Studio 18 take those pieces and reinterpret them through their own creative language.”
The event’s performance lineup included BURUKLYN BOYZ, Sukuma, Afrikun, Solo, Angelo, Coco Kahi, Dauudi O., Love, Mani, Nig.Wav and Ojizzo, according to the statement. Spotify said BURUKLYN BOYZ featured on the Made In Kenya playlist cover on day two to align with their Karibu Night performance, and that the playlist cover changes daily during Greasy Tunes to spotlight artists connected to each day’s events.
Greasy Tunes runs over 12 days and includes 20 events hosted with 12 communities and partners, spanning food and music as well as podcasts, comedy, sport, fashion and other live programming, Spotify said. For Kenya’s creative and hospitality sectors, the schedule reflects the increasing role of multi-venue programming in driving foot traffic and building creator-led communities that can attract brand partnerships.
Spotify did not disclose financial details for the programme. The company said additional Greasy Tunes events would continue across the remaining days, with the Made In Kenya playlist continuing to rotate its cover to reflect participating artists.