Touring has always been one of the oldest, most effective ways for musicians to grow, even before streaming and social media turned music into something we carry in our pockets.
In Nigeria, long before stadium shows and global festivals became the ultimate goal for most of our biggest stars, artists learned early on that moving from city to city, meeting fans in person, and performing for crowds that had only ever heard them on radio or cassette was the surest way to build something lasting. In the days when distribution was physical and promotional tours meant literally carrying your records from one radio station to the next, those who were willing to make the rounds found their names etched into the memories of people far beyond their home cities. University tours were a thing, and rightly so in those days.
Over the years, many Nigerian artists have embraced this approach, tailoring it to fit their careers and audiences. From the national roadshows of telecom giants in the mid-2000s that put dozens of acts on the road together, to self-funded campus tours, to label-backed promotional runs, touring in Nigeria has taken different forms but kept the same goal: to connect.
Runtown, for instance, was part of the 2017 Glo Mega Music Nationwide Tour, one of the most ambitious entertainment circuits of the decade, visiting dozens of cities and sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in Afropop. Mayorkun, early in his career, built a loyal following with his Mayor of Lagos campus and city runs, turning university fields and open spaces into screaming grounds for his growing fan base. Yemi Alade, although more associated with pan-African touring, has also made her mark locally, making sure to include Nigerian cities and campuses on her extensive performance schedules. Even smaller acts have understood that in a country with 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory, the audience is not just in Lagos or Abuja — the crowd in Makurdi or Calabar can be just as loud, just as loyal.
Nationwide tours, however, are a different beast. They require more than just booking a few scattered dates. They demand logistical planning that accounts for travel distances, venue readiness, regional differences in crowd sizes, and sometimes even local security realities. They can also be expensive, which is why they’re less common among newer acts and often undertaken by those with strong backing or a very clear strategy. And when an artist does decide to go that route, it’s usually because they’re trying to do more than just promote a single, they’re building a movement.
That is exactly what makes Llona’s story stand out. Known to his fans as Commander, Llona is an Indie artist who has spent most of 2025 on the road for his Homeless Nationwide Tour, a project that has transformed him from a promising name into a serious contender for the next wave of Nigerian stars. The tour was announced in February 2025 on Llona’s official page and kicked off shortly after, with Zaria as the first stop. From the start, the scale was ambitious. Public listings and promotional material point to a run covering 23 cities and 25 shows across the country; Zaria, Makurdi, Kano, Edo, Owerri, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Taraba and a host of other cities, the point remains: Llona set out to touch as many corners of Nigeria as possible, and in doing so, he’s left an impression on thousands of fans who now sing his lyrics word for word.
In a recent tweet, he wrote about how even though a lot of people did not believe in the vision, he only needed his Manager, Mide, to believe in it.
That belief has been more than symbolic. Badmanmide, as he is better known, has been the steady hand behind the Commander story. Since spotting Llona online and linking with him in 2023, he has shaped the rollout of the Homeless album, built the strategy around its message, and carried much of the weight of taking a 21-city dream on the road. From managing logistics and negotiations to sitting beside Llona in conversations about the project, his role has been equal parts architect and anchor. The result is a partnership that feels less like artist and manager and more like two people betting on the same vision, and winning.
Touring across Nigeria is not just about the kilometres between each city; it’s about the cultural and emotional distance you bridge when you step onto a stage in a place you’ve never performed before. Llona has taken this to heart. From Makurdi to Kano, Abuja to Port Harcourt, down to the Lagos finale, each stop has been documented not just as another date on the calendar but as a shared experience between artist and audience.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing; the planned Jos stop in Plateau State had to be cancelled due to security concerns, a reminder that while music can cross boundaries, reality sometimes draws its own lines.
At different points in the tour, Llona has shared the stage with some remarkable collaborators. Fave joined him in both Kano and Abuja, her voice adding another layer of magic to those nights. Wizard Chan, who was also billed for parts of the tour, appeared in Kano and is tied to performances in Port Harcourt, bringing his own fan energy into the mix. The Abuja stop, captured in a flurry of videos and fan clips, was a high-energy night where Llona’s performance of his single Dead Flowers turned into a communal sing-along, with the crowd shouting back every lyric.
By the time the tour rolled into Lagos for its grand finale, it had grown into something much bigger than a promotional run. That night at The Podium in Lekki saw appearances from MI Abaga, Ycee, Illbliss, and Ice Prince, turning it into an all-star celebration of one of the most ambitious tours Nigeria has seen in recent years.
The Lagos finale also marked a commercial milestone. Power Horse, the energy drink brand, had a visible activation at the event, an endorsement of Llona’s rising commercial value. Sponsorships like this are the kind of partnerships that nationwide tours can unlock, as brands look to align with artists who have proven they can pull crowds beyond the usual hotspots. It’s the type of synergy that makes touring not just a creative statement but a smart business move.
What’s made the Homeless Nationwide Tour so effective is that it’s been grounded in authenticity. Llona’s Homeless album, released in late July 2024, has been the heartbeat of this run. Instead of flooding the market with new releases, he chose to let the project breathe, building its life on the road. This decision meant that fans in each city weren’t just hearing his songs for the first time; they were stepping into the world he created with the album, a world they had already been living in through streaming and social media. The result has been a sense of ownership among his audience. They’re not just listening to Homeless; they’re part of it.
This approach mirrors the most effective touring strategies in Nigerian music history. The artists who’ve left the deepest marks are those who have been willing to go where the fans are, not just where the cameras are. It’s the same logic that drove those early Glo tours, the campus runs of the late 2010s, and the local circuits that still take place away from the glare of national press. For Llona, the Homeless Nationwide Tour has been more than a series of performances. It’s been a statement: that a young artist can take control of his narrative, can build his own momentum, and can create a cultural moment without waiting for the gatekeepers of Lagos or Abuja to hand him the spotlight.
And at the centre of that control has been the Llona–Badmanmide partnership. Just two years in, their relationship has already defined the way Llona moves: deliberate, independent, and vision-driven. It is the kind of manager–artist bond that often decides whether a promising career turns into a lasting one.
From the first chord struck in Zaria to the last cheer in Lagos, the tour has become proof of what’s possible when ambition meets planning. The cancelled Jos stop is a reminder of the unpredictability of the road, but the rest of the journey proves the point: touring in Nigeria still works. It still builds careers. And when it’s done with intent, as Llona has done it, it can turn a debut album into the foundation of a lasting legacy.
Nationwide tours may be rare, but they remain one of the most powerful tools an artist can use to grow. Llona’s Homeless Nationwide Tour has shown that even in a market dominated by digital hype, nothing replaces the energy of a live performance, the connection of shared space, and the slow, deliberate work of winning over one city at a time. In a country as vast and varied as Nigeria, that’s how movements are built. And right now, Llona is leading one.
