David Byrne: 'Who Is the Sky?' World Tour
If you've seen concert films 'Stop Making Sense' and 'American Utopia', then you'll want to catch the iconic Talking Heads frontman live.
Overview
David Byrne started 2025 by singing and dancing with Robyn at Saturday Night Live's 50th-anniversary concert, then releasing the Saoirse Ronan (Blitz)-starring first-ever music video for 'Psycho Killer' 48 years after the song's debut. In 2026, he'll kick the year into gear by bringing his latest world tour Down Under in January.
The iconic Talking Heads founder and frontman is hitting the road to support his latest record, September 2025 release Who Is the Sky?. In Australia and New Zealand, he's playing his first gigs since 2018, when he brought his American Utopia tour — which none other than Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods) turned into a concert flick also called American Utopia, aka one of 2020's absolute best films — this way.
In Sydney and thinking "this must be the place"? You're right: Byrne is venturing to the Harbour City, playing ICC Sydney Theatre on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
If you caught his American Utopia gigs or watched the film, you'll recognise some other familiar faces on the Who Is the Sky? tour. Byrne is taking to the stage with 13 musicians, singers and dancers, some of whom were part of the American Utopia band. Just like in those famous shows, his fellow performers will all be mobile throughout Byrne's latest set.
Like tour, like album: Who Is the Sky? isn't just Byrne's first set of live gigs since American Utopia, but also his first record since that Grammy-winning release came out in 2018. Launching on Friday, September 5, 2025 — with first single 'Everybody Laughs' out now — the new album features St Vincent, Paramore's Hayley Williams, The Smile drummer Tom Skinner and American Utopia percussionist Mauro Refosco among its guests.
Byrne has long been a must-see live performer — and there's long been filmic proof of that fact. Forty-two years ago this December, he made concert film history with Talking Heads when he walked out onto a Hollywood stage with a tape deck, pressed play and, while standing there solo, began to sing 'Psycho Killer'. Then-future The Silence of the Lambs Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme directed cameras his way, recording the results for Stop Making Sense.
Shervin Lainez
Live images: Raph_PH via Flickr.
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