From Portugal To Playlists: How JamBase’s Local Live Mixes Transformed Music Discovery Abroad
Taylor and Mike of Roam Away From Home discovered tons of exciting new music with JamBase’s Local Live Mixes Spotify playlists.
By Chrissy Greco Oct 24, 2024 • 8:45 am PDT
For Taylor and Mike of Roam Away From Home, music isn’t just entertainment — it’s a way of life. The married content creators, who have attended over 1,000 concerts together, found themselves facing a unique challenge when they moved to Portugal: how to discover and connect with the local music scene in their new home country. Their solution came in the form of JamBase’s Local Live Mixes on Spotify, which have transformed how they explore and experience live music abroad.
A Musical Journey Abroad
After three years of traveling throughout the U.S. and Mexico in their vintage campervan, Taylor and Mike made the bold decision to relocate to Portugal. While excited about their new adventure, they faced difficulties.
“One of the biggest challenges of moving abroad to Portugal was leaving behind our tight-knit community of fellow music lovers in the U.S.,” they share. “Because of that, we decided to find the local music scene in our new home.”
Enter JamBase’s Local Live Mixes, a groundbreaking feature that creates location-based Spotify playlists connecting users with the music of upcoming concerts in their area. For Taylor and Mike, this tool became invaluable in their musical exploration of Portugal.
The Power of Three: JamBase’s Local Live Mixes
JamBase’s Local Live Mixes integrate seamlessly with Spotify to create three distinct types of location-based playlists, each serving a unique purpose in music discovery. Users can easily access these playlists by creating or logging into their JamBase account, navigating to Playlists, and connecting their Spotify account. All playlists can be customized by location radius and timeframe and are updated daily with songs by artists with concerts happening in the next 24 hours at the top.
“My JamBase Favorites in Concert,” creates a personalized playlist featuring songs by users’ favorite artists who are scheduled to perform within their set location radius and time frame. It’s like having a curated preview of upcoming shows by artists you already love.
“Fresh & Familiar In Concert,” another playlist option, focuses on new music discovery by combining tracks from both favorite artists and recommended artists with concerts in the area. This playlist helps expand musical horizons while maintaining a connection to familiar sounds — a feature Taylor and Mike now use when planning their U.S. visits.
“We changed our settings to Fresh & Familiar and a 20-mile radius to help us narrow down which shows we want to see when we return to the States” they explain.
The third option, “[Your Location] In Concert,” provides the most comprehensive view of the local music scene, featuring tracks from every artist with upcoming performances in the selected area. This was the playlist that proved most valuable for Taylor and Mike’s Portuguese adventure, set to include all artists playing within 200 miles of Lisbon in a three-month window.
Discovering Portugal Through Sound
The Roam Away From Home duo’s approach to playlists was simple but effective: they opted for a playlist “Lisbon, Portugal In Concert” that included all artists playing within 200 miles of Lisbon in the next three months.
“What’s cool about this feature here in Europe is that the 200-mile range includes shows in Spain as well!” they note. Their method? “We’d listen to the playlists as we worked, exercised, and traveled to choose which artists we enjoyed the most, and then look up when they were playing to see them all live.”
The impact was immediate and transformative. “You don’t know what you don’t know, right?” Taylor reflects. “The Local Live Mix playlists exposed us to so much international music that we honestly would not have seen otherwise.”
Among their discoveries was Electronic Portuguese Folk, a genre-blending traditional Portuguese instruments with modern electronic elements. Artists like Bandua, Omiri, Ana Lua Caiano and Emmy Curl became new favorites — discoveries that might have taken months or years without the playlists.
Breaking Down Barriers
The playlists didn’t just introduce them to new music — they helped break down the logistical barriers of discovering live music in a new country. “We didn’t need to search dozens of venue websites to see who’s playing next, which is especially hard when you don’t even know which venues exist,” they explain. “Instead of spending hours and hours of research, we would just listen to a song on the playlist, decide if we liked it, and then look up when to go see the show live.”
This streamlined approach to music discovery has led to countless memorable experiences and connections. Taylor shares a touching story about making friends at concerts despite language barriers: “Throughout our concert experiences, we made friends from around the globe: Portugal, China, the U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Canada, Uruguay, The Netherlands, Nigeria, and more. Even when we didn’t speak the same language fluently, we’d find ways to connect through music.”
Building Community Through Music
The impact of Local Live Mixes extended beyond just concert attendance. “Before moving here, we knew very few Portuguese artists,” they admit. “The playlists exposed us to major artists like modern Faro musician, Ana Moura, that nearly everyone here knows and lesser-known artists that we got to share with our Portuguese friends.” This musical knowledge became a bridge to cultural exchange, with Taylor and Mike both teaching and learning about different artists with their new Portuguese friends.
Looking Forward
As JamBase continues to develop its Local Live Mixes feature, fans like Taylor and Mike are already envisioning new ways to utilize it. Taylor dreams of creating Local Live Mixes for “concert content sprints” in various European cities. “It’s kind of like creating your own music festival in a new city!” she enthuses.
Their advice for other expats or travelers looking to explore local music scenes? Mike puts it simply: “It’s a free feature and super easy.” Taylor adds, “If you want to have a good time with fun people, get your playlist started and just pick one of the shows close to you to go see live. Concerts are people intentionally deciding to do something that makes them happy with other happy people, so it can only enrich your travel experience.”
As JamBase looks to expand Local Live Mixes to other streaming platforms, stories like Taylor and Mike’s demonstrate the feature’s potential not just for music discovery, but for cultural connection and community building. In their case, it helped transform Portugal from a new home to a place filled with music, friendship, and endless possibilities for live music adventures.
To continue following Taylor & Mike’s journey of music discovery and life abroad in Portugal, check out their Instagram, YouTube, and travel blog.
