Burna Boy Joins Dave for Lagos Tour Finale as Live Nation Expands in Africa

Live music company Live Nation is strengthening its presence in Africa as British-Nigerian rapper Dave concluded his The Boy Who Played the Harp tour with two concerts in Lagos on October 16 and 17, 2026. The shows at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts featured appearances by Nigerian artists Burna Boy and Oxlade, highlighting the connections between international touring and Africa's growing live music market.

During the October 17 finale, Burna Boy joined Dave to perform their 2019 collaboration, "Location," which appeared on Dave's debut album, Psychodrama. According to 24Hip-Hop, the appearance revisited an established collaboration rather than introducing a new release. Oxlade also performed "Intoxycated" during the concert, according to coverage cited by HypeTribe.

The Lagos performances were presented by Live Nation and Nigerian concert promoter MASSIVE Dynamics. They followed 39 tour stops across Europe, North America and Australia, as well as earlier performances in Pretoria and Cape Town, South Africa.

The concerts also marked Dave's first headline performances in Nigeria. His tour took its name from his third studio album, The Boy Who Played the Harp, released on October 24, 2025, according to TurnTable Charts and 24Hip-Hop.

Dave had already established a substantial audience in Nigeria before arriving in Lagos. His collaboration with Tems, "Raindance," spent 32 weeks on TurnTable's Official Nigeria Top 100 Singles Chart, reaching No. 7 after debuting at No. 10. The track accumulated 34 million on-demand streams in Nigeria at the time of its chart peak, according to TurnTable Charts.

The same publication reported that "Raindance" ranked as Nigeria's ninth-biggest song in the first quarter of 2026, generating 14.7 million on-demand streams and 489 million radio impressions. By the end of the first half of the year, it had become the country's seventh most-heard song on radio, with 718 million radio impressions.

Live Nation's African strategy extends beyond individual concerts. In June 2026, the company appointed Daniel Noake as vice president of market development for Sub-Saharan Africa, establishing dedicated regional leadership across venues, sponsorship, ticketing and touring, according to Communiqué.

Noake described the appointment as a formalization of the company's existing work across the continent.

"We've been working in Africa for a while now," Noake told Communiqué. "The only change is that we've just put dedicated leadership now around venues, sponsorship, ticketing, and touring."

South Africa remains Live Nation's strongest established African market. The company acquired a controlling stake in local promoter Big Concerts in 2016, building on an operation that has brought international performers to the country for decades.

Live Nation has also expanded its ticketing operations. In 2024, Ticketmaster acquired Cape Town-based Quicket, which already operated in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Botswana. Quicket continued operating as a standalone business after the acquisition, providing access to several additional African markets.

The company's broader international expansion offers context for its African approach. In Japan, Live Nation established a joint venture with promoter Creativeman in 2012 and acquired its partner's stake two years later. In Thailand, it partnered with BEC-Tero in 2015 before acquiring its concerts and entertainment division in 2022.

In the Philippines, Live Nation worked with promoter MMI before acquiring the company in 2022. In Latin America, it acquired a controlling stake in C3 in 2014, purchased 51% of Mexico's OCESA in 2021 and increased that holding to 75% in 2025. It also acquired a majority stake in Argentina's DF Entertainment in 2018 and a majority stake in Movistar Arena Buenos Aires in 2026.

These developments illustrate how Live Nation has expanded through local partnerships and acquisitions before adding other parts of the concert business. Its African operations are at an earlier stage, with regional ticketing and touring relationships developing alongside its established South African base.