Olivia Rodrigo welcomed David Byrne onstage during her headlining set Saturday at New York’s Governors Ball festival for a rendition of the Talking Heads classic “Burning Down the House.”
Toward the end of her weather-delayed set, Rodrigo brought out the “legendary” Byrne, who immediately launched into the Speaking in Tongues track. The two singers then traded verses on the track, with Byrne eventually dropping his acoustic guitar to engage in some synchronized dance routines with the Guts singer:
Like much of the Talking Heads’ work following the Stop Making Sense rerelease, “Burning Down the House” has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years: Paramore covered the track for the Talking Heads tribute album Everyone’s Getting Involved, and later added it to their live repertoire. Dave Matthews Band also performed the 1983 song during their own induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Byrne and his trademark dance moves also recently joined another pop star onstage when he and Robyn performed her “Dancing on My Own” and the Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” during the all-star SNL 50 concert.
Rodrigo has made it a habit to share the stage with her musical heroes, from crashing No Doubt’s reunion at Coachella to performing “Hot to Go!” alongside Chappell Roan to inviting Jewel onstage at a Madison Square Garden gig to duetting with Tyler Childers.
