David Byrne Opened With "Heaven" and Brought Thirteen Players Along

Two shows on the Who Is the Sky? tour paired the 2025 Matador album with Talking Heads staples, in the same running order on both dates.

David Byrne began both of his Hollywood Bowl shows with "Heaven," the Talking Heads song about a bar where nothing ever happens. It was an unhurried way into a production built for a 13-member ensemble, and it set the terms for the two shows on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29, 2026.

The occasion was the Who Is the Sky? tour, named for the album Byrne released on Matador Records in September 2025. It was his first new album since American Utopia in 2018. Kid Harpoon produced it, members of the New York chamber group Ghost Train Orchestra arranged its songs, and Hayley Williams and the drummer Tom Skinner appear as guests.

The setlist moved between that record and the catalog. After "Heaven" came "Everybody Laughs" from the new album, then "And She Was." The opening stretch went on with "Strange Overtones," his collaboration with Brian Eno, then "Houses in Motion," "T Shirt," "(Nothing but) Flowers" and "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)." Newer songs, "What Is the Reason for It?," "When We Are Singing" and "Independence Day," sat close to "Like Humans Do".

The posted setlists show the same opening order on both dates. The Bowl billed the production as a survey of his Talking Heads years and his work with Brian Eno alongside the solo songs.

The two Bowl dates came after the album's tour had already covered spring dates in North America, Coachella, and a summer leg through Europe and the UK.