David Byrne Sets World Tour For New Album

David Byrne (Photo: Shervin Lainez; used with permission)

David Byrne has announced a 2025-2026 world tour to support a new studio album, Who Is the Sky?, his first new album since 2018’s acclaimed and award-winning American Utopia. The title will be released September 5 by Matador Records, just days before the tour commences. His return to the road with a brand new live show will feature 13 musicians, singers and dancers, including members of the American Utopia band, all of whom will be mobile throughout the set. The North American tour begins September 14, with Australia and New Zealand dates kicking off in January 2026 and European and U.K. dates starting the following month. Tickets for the general public go on sale June 13 and can be purchased here. An artist presale will begin June 10 at 10 a.m. ET through June 12 at 10 p.m. local time. See the full tour itinerary below.

Who Is the Sky? was produced by the Grammy-winning Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), while its 12 songs were arranged by the members of New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. It’s led by the infectious single “Everybody Laughs”; its official video, directed by multimedia artist Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, was released on June 10, the day of the announcement. The album, on CD, vinyl and special lemon yellow vinyl, is available to pre-order in the U.S. here. (Pre-order in the U.K. are available here and 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,” says Byrne. “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. I realized that when singing with Robyn earlier this year. Her songs are often sad, but the music is joyous.”

[Much more about the new album below the tour dates.]

David Byrne World Tour (Tickets will be available here)
North America
09/14/2025 – Providence, RI – Veterans Memorial Auditorium
09/16/2025 – Pittsburgh, PA – Benedum Center PAC
09/17/2025 – Columbus, OH – Mershon Auditorium
09/19/2025 – Akron, OH – Akron Civic Theatre
09/21/2025 – Schenectady, NY – Proctors
09/23/2025 – Syracuse, NY – Landmark Theatre
09/25/2025 – Buffalo, NY – Shea’s Buffalo Theatre
09/27/2025 – Washington D.C. – The Anthem
09/28/2025 – Washington D.C. – The Anthem
09/30/2025 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
10/01/2025 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
10/03/2025 – Boston, MA – Boch Center Wang Theatre
10/04/2025 – Boston, MA – Boch Center Wang Theatre
10/07/2025 – Wallingford, CT – Toyota Oakdale Theatre
10/08/2025 – Portland, ME – Merrill Auditorium at City Hall
10/10/2025 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
10/14/2025 – Richmond, VA – Altria Theater
10/16/2025 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
10/17/2025 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
10/21/2025 – Toronto, ON, Canada – Massey Hall
10/22/2025 – Toronto, ON, Canada – Massey Hall
10/25/2025 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
10/28/2025 – Chicago, IL – The Auditorium
10/29/2025 – Chicago, IL – The Auditorium
10/31/2025 – Chicago, IL – The Auditorium
11/03/2025 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre
11/04/2025 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre
11/06/2025 – Denver, CO – Bellco Theatre
11/07/2025 – Denver, CO – Bellco Theatre
11/11/2025 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
11/12/2025 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
11/16/2025 – San Francisco, CA – The Theater at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
11/17/2025 – San Francisco, CA – The Theater at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
11/20/2025 – Los Angeles, CA – Dolby Theatre
11/21/2025 – Los Angeles, CA – Dolby Theatre
11/25/2025 – Austin, TX – Bass Concert Hall
11/26/2025 – Austin, TX – Bass Concert Hall
11/28/2025 – Dallas, TX – Music Hall at Fair Park
11/29/2025 – Dallas, TX – Music Hall at Fair Park
12/02/2025 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
12/03/2025 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
12/05/2025 – Miami, FL – Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theatre
12/06/2025 – Miami, FL – Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theatre

Australia & New Zealand
01/14/2026 – Auckland, New Zealand – Spark Arena
01/17/2026 – Brisbane, Australia – Brisbane Entertainment Center
01/21/2026 – Sydney, Australia – ICC Sydney Theatre
01/22/2026 – Melbourne, Australia – Sidney Myer Music Bowl
01/24/2026 – Adelaide, Australia – Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena
01/27/2026 – Perth, Australia – RAC Arena

Europe & United Kingdom
02/12/2026 – Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom
02/15/2026 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – AFAS Live
02/16/2026 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – AFAS Live
02/18/2026 – Brussels, Belgium – Forest National
02/21/2026 – Milan, Italy – Teatro degli Arcimboldi
02/22/2026 – Milan, Italy – Teatro degli Arcimboldi
02/24/2026 – Frankfurt, Germany – Jahrhunderthalle
02/27/2026 – Zurich, Switzerland – The Hall
03/02/2026 – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
03/03/2026 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
03/04/2026 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
03/06/2026 – Glasgow, UK – SEC Armadillo
03/07/2026 – Glasgow, UK – SEC Armadillo
03/09/2026 – Manchester, UK – o2 Apollo
03/10/2026 – Manchester, UK – o2 Apollo
03/13/2026 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
03/15/2026 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
03/18/2026 – Paris, France – La Seine Musicale
03/19/2026 – Paris, France – La Seine Musicale

Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours

In 2023, as his triumphant American Utopia era came to a close after morphing from an album and tour into an acclaimed Broadway show and then a Spike Lee-directed HBO film, Byrne began jotting down the occasional groove, chord or melody. It had been a minute.

During the tumultuous three prior years, “I did a LOT of cooking (Mexican and Indian mostly) and a LOT of drawing,” says Byrne, who also started compiling lyric ideas and phrases for possible songs. “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.”

And with the world, and the in-progress American Utopia Broadway run, on pause, he, like much of humanity, took the opportunity to ask, “Do I like what I’m doing? Why am I writing songs, or working this job, or whatever? Does any of it matter?”

Byrne’s attempts to answer those weighty questions can be found on Who Is The Sky?, which builds upon the optimistic themes laid out by American Utopia and its supporting tour, and more specifically spelled out by the Grammy-winning Broadway show and subsequent movie. With this offering, Byrne continues his lifelong exploration of human connection and the potential for societal unity against the chaotic backdrop of the world.

Byrne was inspired to enlist Ghost Train Orchestra for the album after hearing their 2023 tribute album to the blind New York composer and street poet Moondog, and later that year jumped on stage with the group during a Brooklyn performance. Enticed by the 15-member Ghost Train’s varied instrumental lineup – which includes drums, percussion, guitar and bass along with strings, winds and brass – he thought to himself, “what if that’s what these new songs of mine sounded like?” Byrne asked if they’d want to serve as his band for the Who Is The Sky? sessions, and they quickly agreed.

“David sent me some demos and asked us to put together some orchestral ideas,” says Ghost Train Orchestra leader Brian Carpenter. “Curtis Hasselbring and I quickly wrote a couple rough draft arrangements of his songs for Ghost Train, including ‘My Apartment Is My Friend,’ which was the first song we rehearsed at our tiny rehearsal space in Chinatown. To hear him singing with us for the first time on that song was just incredible.”

There are “more story songs than usual” on Who Is the Sky?, according to Byrne. These “mini-narratives based on personal experience” include “She Explains Things to Me” (sample lyric: “how come it’s all so obvious to her?”), “A Door Called No” (which magically opens after Byrne receives a kiss), “My Apartment Is My Friend” (“you’ve seen me at my very worst / but we always get along,” he sings) and “I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party” (at which the onetime spiritual guru is more interested in the unhealthy deserts than deification).

Marked by the inviting vocal interplay between Byrne and Paramore’s Williams, the jaunty “What Is the Reason for It?” aims to codify love in a way logic can rarely accomplish (“does it do something useful? / nobody understands it”), while “The Avant Garde” wrestles with the merits of art for art’s sake (“it’s ahead of the curve / it’s deceptively weighty, profound, absurd / it’s whatever fits” – a meta observation if ever there was one from one of the most iconoclastic artists to emerge from the New York rock underground.

The Who Is The Sky? album package was designed by Shira Inbar and finds Byrne nearly obscured by radiating, colored patterns and psychedelic, spiky outfits designed by Belgian artist Tom Van Der Borght.

“At my age, at least for me, there’s a ‘don’t give a shit about what people think’ attitude that kicks in,” Byrne says. “I can step outside my comfort zone with the knowledge that I kind of know who I am by now and sort of know what I’m doing. That said, every new set of songs, every song even, is a new adventure. There’s always a bit of, ‘how do I work this?’ I’ve found that not every collaboration works, but often when they do, it’s because I’m able to clearly impart what it is I’m trying to do. They hopefully get that, and as a result, we’re now joined together heading to the same unknown place.”

David Byrne Who Is the Sky? Track List
Everybody Laughs
When We Are Singing
My Apartment Is My Friend
A Door Called No
What Is the Reason for It?
I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party
Don’t Be Like That
The Avant Garde
Moisturizing Thing
I’m an Outsider
She Explains Things to Me
The Truth

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Greg Brodsky

Best Classic Bands Founder/CEO Greg Brodsky earned his first professional bylines as a reporter for the music trade weekly Record World. He still has all his vinyl albums and enjoys going to flea markets and garage sales to grow his collection.

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