David Byrne has announced a new album titled Who Is the Sky?
It will be released on Sept. 5, and followed less than two weeks later by the launch of an international tour that will stretch into 2026.
Who Is the Sky? was produced by Kid Harpoon and arranged by members of the New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. Special guests include St. Vincent, Paramore’s Hayley Williams and the Smile drummer Tom Skinner. This is Byrne’s first new album since 2018’s American Utopia.
“I did a LOT of cooking (Mexican and Indian mostly) and a LOT of drawing,” Byrne said in a press release, speaking about the seven years since American Utopia. “I’ve found that when the time comes, it’s easier to start if there’s a little stockpile – and before too long there was. Very rudimentary songs began to emerge, with just me on acoustic guitar singing over a programmed loop or beat.”
Byrne’s global tour will launch Sept. 14 in Providence, Rhode Island and make its way across North America through the end of 2025. Then in 2026, he’ll bring the tour to Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the U.K. According to a press release, the tour will feature 13 musicians, singers and dancers, several of whom were members of the American Utopia band, and they will be “mobile” during the sets.
A complete track listing, full list of tour dates and the album’s first single, “Everybody Laughs,” is available below. (More information about tour tickets can be found here.)
“Someone I know said, ‘David, you use the word “everybody” a lot.’ I suppose I do that to give an anthropological view of life in New York as we know it,” Byrne continued. “Everybody lives, dies, laughs, cries, sleeps and stares at the ceiling. Everybody’s wearing everybody else’s shoes, which not everybody does, but I have done. I tried to sing about these things that could be seen as negative in a way balanced by an uplifting feeling from the groove and the melody, especially at the end, when St. Vincent and I are doing a lot of hollering and singing together. Music can do that – hold opposites simultaneously.”
READ MORE: Why David Byrne Walked Out on Talking Heads’ Final Concert
David Byrne, ‘Who Is the Sky?’ Track Listing:
1. “Everybody Laughs”
2. “When We Are Singing”
3. “My Apartment Is My Friend”
4. “A Door Called No”
5. “What Is the Reason for It?”
6. “I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party”
7. “Don’t Be Like That”
8. “The Avant Garde”
9. “Moisturizing Thing”
10. “I’m an Outsider”
11. “She Explains Things to Me”
12. “The Truth”
David Byrne, 2025/2026 World Tour Dates
North America:
Sept. 14, 2025 – Providence, RI @ Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Sept. 16, 2025 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Benedum Center PAC
Sept. 17, 2025 – Columbus, OH @ Mershon Auditorium
Sept. 19, 2025 – Akron, OH @ Akron Civic Theatre
Sept. 21, 2025 – Schenectady, NY @ Proctors
Sept. 23, 2025 – Syracuse, NY @ Landmark Theatre
Sept. 25, 2025 – Buffalo, NY @ Shea’s Buffalo Theatre
Sept. 27, 2025 – Washington D.C. @ The Anthem
Sept. 28, 2025 – Washington D.C. @ The Anthem
Sept. 30, 2025 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
Oct. 1, 2025 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
Oct. 3, 2025 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center Wang Theatre
Oct. 4, 2025 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center Wang Theatre
Oct. 7, 2025 – Wallingford, CT @ Toyota Oakdale Theatre
Oct. 8, 2025 – Portland, ME @ Merrill Auditorium at City Hall
Oct. 10, 2025 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
Oct. 14, 2025 – Richmond, VA @ Altria Theater
Oct. 16, 2025 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
Oct. 17, 2025 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
Oct. 21, 2025 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Massey Hall
Oct. 22, 2025 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Massey Hall
Oct. 25, 2025 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
Oct. 28, 2025 – Chicago, IL @ The Auditorium
Oct. 29, 2025 – Chicago, IL @ The Auditorium
Oct. 31, 2025 – Chicago, IL @ The Auditorium
Nov. 3, 2025 – Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
Nov. 4, 2025 – Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
Nov. 6, 2025 – Denver, CO @ Bellco Theatre
Nov. 7, 2025 – Denver, CO @ Bellco Theatre
Nov. 11, 2025 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
Nov. 12, 2025 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
Nov. 16, 2025 – San Francisco, CA @ The Theater at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Nov. 17, 2025 – San Francisco, CA @ The Theater at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Nov. 20, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA @ Dolby Theatre
Nov. 21, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA @ Dolby Theatre
Nov. 25, 2025 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert Hall
Nov. 26, 2025 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert Hall
Nov. 28, 2025 – Dallas, TX @ Music Hall at Fair Park
Nov. 29, 2025 – Dallas, TX @ Music Hall at Fair Park
Dec. 2, 2025 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
Dec. 3, 2025 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
Dec. 5, 2025 – Miami, FL @ Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theatre
Dec. 6, 2025 – Miami, FL @ Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theatre
Australia & New Zealand:
Jan. 14, 2026 – Auckland, New Zealand @ Spark Arena
Jan. 17, 2026 – Brisbane, Australia @ Brisbane Entertainment Center
Jan. 21, 2026 – Sydney, Australia @ ICC Sydney Theatre
Jan. 22, 2026 – Melbourne, Australia @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Jan. 24, 2026 – Adelaide, Australia @ Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena
Jan. 27, 2026 – Perth, Australia @ RAC Arena
Europe & United Kingdom:
Feb. 12, 2026 – Berlin, Germany @ Tempodrom
Feb. 15, 2026 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live
Feb. 16, 2026 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live
Feb. 18, 2026 – Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
Feb. 21, 2026 – Milan, Italy @ Teatro degli Arcimboldi
Feb. 22, 2026 – Milan, Italy @ Teatro degli Arcimboldi
Feb. 24, 2026 – Frankfurt, Germany @ Jahrhunderthalle
Feb. 27, 2026 – Zurich, Switzerland @ The Hall
March 2, 2026 – Cardiff, UK @ Utilita Arena
March 3, 2026 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
March 4, 2026 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
March 6, 2026 – Glasgow, UK @ SEC Armadillo
March 7, 2026 – Glasgow, UK @ SEC Armadillo
March 9, 2026 – Manchester, UK @ o2 Apollo
March 10, 2026 – Manchester, UK @ o2 Apollo
March 13, 2026 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3Arena
March 15, 2026 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
March 18, 2026 – Paris, France @ La Seine Musicale
March 19, 2026 – Paris, France @ La Seine Musicale
Talking Heads Albums Ranked Worst to Best
For the decade and a half that they held it together, Talking Heads led a charmed musical career.
Gallery Credit: Bryan Wawzenek
