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David Byrne returns to the stage with a brand new live show in support of his upcoming album Who Is the Sky? The new show promises to be a dynamic experience with 13 musicians, singers and dancers, including members of the American Utopia band. The entire cast will be mobile on stage for the duration of the performance, ensuring another visual and musical spectacle that Byrne fans have come to expect. In addition to the tour announcement, Byrne will release his new studio album Who Is the Sky? on September 5 via Matador Records, his first since 2018’s award-winning American Utopia. The new album was produced by Grammy winner Kid Harpoon and features contributions from St. Vincent, Hayley Williams (Paramore), Tom Skinner (The Smile) and Mauro Refosco (American Utopia). The arrangements are by New York chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. 

The album’s first single is the infectious “Everybody Laughs.” Byrne explains: “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. Everybody lives, dies, laughs, cries, sleeps and stares at the ceiling.”

About his inspiration, Byrne says: “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.”

Producer Kid Harpoon adds: “Walking around New York listening to the demo of 'Everybody Laughs' was so joyous, because it made me feel like we're all the same – we all laugh, cry and sing. The thing about David that resonates with a lot of people is that he's in on the joke. He gets the absurdity of it all.”

The album contains personal stories such as “My Apartment Is My Friend” and “I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party”. According to Byrne: “I suspected that intimate orchestral arrangements would bring out the emotion I sense is there in these songs. It's something that folks don't always hear in my work, but this time for sure I thought it was there.”

Byrne about his creative freedom: “At my age, at least for me, there's a 'don't give a shit about what people think' attitude that kicks in. 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.”