On Saturday, September 6, 2025, Shamba Café in Nairobi became the stage for an unprecedented moment in Kenya’s growing podcasting landscape. Spotify, the global audio streaming giant, hosted its first-ever Podcast Live Sessions in the country, bringing three of the nation’s most celebrated shows into a live audience setting.
The event featured performances by TMI Podcast, The Sandwich Podcast, and So This Is Love, all of which have become household names among Kenyan listeners.
For the hundreds of fans who turned up, it was a rare chance to see their favorite podcast hosts in person, engage directly, and witness the energy of podcasting in a shared space.
The day was structured around three live tapings, spread across the afternoon and evening.
The Sandwich Podcast, known for its humorous and often edgy takes on everyday Kenyan life, followed at 2:00 PM, delivering laughs and sharp insights in equal measure.
TMI Podcast followed the program at 12:30 pm, tackling its usual mix of candid conversations around relationships, social issues, and lifestyle trends.
Closing the event was So This Is Love, a podcast dedicated to stories of romance, vulnerability, and faith, which ran from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM.
Each session was recorded before a live audience, with moments of interaction woven into the programming. Fans cheered, laughed, and even asked questions, creating a dynamic atmosphere that differed from the usual solitary listening experience podcasts typically provide.
The Spotify company has been expanding its focus on Africa, identifying the continent as a critical growth market for both music and spoken-word content. By staging the Live Sessions, Spotify aims to achieve.
Audience Engagement: The event gave fans a new way to interact with podcasts they normally consume alone. It built a sense of community around shared listening.
Creator Visibility: For podcasters, performing in front of a live audience boosted their visibility and highlighted their ability to connect in real time. It also validated podcasting as a legitimate form of live entertainment in Kenya.
Content Expansion: The recordings from Nairobi are expected to be re-released as special episodes, ensuring the impact of the event extends beyond those who attended in person.
Brand Positioning: Hosting the sessions allowed Spotify to strengthen its presence in Kenya’s media ecosystem, positioning itself as a platform invested in local culture and creators.
Globally, Spotify has been experimenting with ways to make podcasts more interactive. Features like polls, video integration, and live audio formats are now part of its creator toolkit. Events such as the Nairobi Live Sessions are extensions of this push—taking podcasts beyond digital distribution and turning them into shared cultural experiences.
By backing events like the Live Sessions, Spotify is supporting established creators and also signaling to aspiring podcasters that there is a future in the medium. It’s part of a broader effort to diversify content offerings, attract advertisers, and grow subscription revenue.