David Byrne announces new solo album and tour

David Byrne is back with his first solo album since 2018’s American Utopia.

The former Talking Heads frontman will release Who Is the Sky? on Sept. 5, and has recruited some special guests to join him, including St. Vincent, Paramore’s Hayley Williams and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner.

The album features songs arranged by the members of New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra, and Byrne is previewing the record with the release of the track “Everybody Laughs.”

“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.”

He continues, “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.”

Who Is the Sky? is available for preorder now in a variety of formats, including a limited edition cantaloupe orange/strawberry pink split vinyl with a lenticular cover.

Byrne has also announced a new tour in support of the album, which will kick off in North America on Sept. 14 in Providence, Rhode Island, wrapping with two nights in Miami, Dec. 5 and 6.

An artist presale is happening now through Thursday at 10 p.m. local time, with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at DavidByrne.com.

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