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Erykah Badu and The Alchemist closed out their tour, Luv Iz…, with a set at Austin City Limits. Across 10 North American dates, the duo exclusively shared songs from their upcoming album, Abi & Alan, breaking the mold for how music projects are introduced. But you won’t find any audio-on concert footage floating around the internet. 

This was strategically done. Ahead of the shows, attendees were asked to lock their phones away in Yondr pouches. Press was also given disposable cameras to capture images of the sets. It worked. 

“The concert was almost all new material, which meant the audience were experiencing it the way Badu and Alchemist intended it: live and in the moment. ‘No uploads, no downloads,’ said the Queen of Neo Soul. Instead, fans got to hear it in the spirit in which it was made,” wrote Billboard Canada after the Toronto show. 

“Badu and The Alchemist were both set up in different ‘rooms’ onstage, which were set up to look like a rec room complete with lava lamps and vinyl shelves. It felt like a true listening party, like we were invited into their houses to hear the new music they were working on.”

The trust-based experience was truly unique and a testament to the respect Badu and The Alchemist’s supporters have for their work. For more photos and recaps from Erykah Badu herself, be sure to follow her on Instagram.