David Byrne Announces New Album ‘Who Is the Sky?’

David Byrne is having quite a week. First, he performed his Talking Heads classic, “Burning Down the House,” with Olivia Rodrigo at the New York Governors Ball, and now he is announcing that his 11th solo album is on the way.

Byrne took to Instagram on June 10, 2025, to share that “Who Is the Sky?” is due out on September 5, 2025, via Matador Records.

“I finished up a new album recently called “Who Is The Sky?”. It’s produced by Kid Harpoon, joined by Ghost Train Orchestra and, on a couple of songs, my friends St. Vincent and Hayley Williams. It comes out Sept. 5th under Matador—a new label for me,” shared Byrne.

David Byrne Also Announces Tour

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David Byrne is known for presenting fully evolved ideas, and so, of course, he is already planning on taking his new music on the road.

He further shared on Instagram, “I will start rehearsing soon for a tour that begins in September. The tour concept is unlike anything I’ve done before. We’ll keep the mobility that was a key element of the American Utopia tour and Broadway show— but instead of the chain… we will have locations. You’ll just have to come and experience what that involves. Tour tickets go on sale 6/13.”

The New Album Has a Few Key Collaborations

According to Billboard, “Who Is the Sky?” is produced by Kid Harpoon, and the 12-track album will feature collaborations with Paramore’s Hayley Williams, St. Vincent and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner, with arrangements by the New York chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra.

Byrne said there are “more story songs than usual” on the new album, tracks he describes as “mini-narratives based on personal experience including “She Explains Things to Me,” “ADoor Called No,” “My Apartment Is My Friend” and “I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party.” The song with Hayley Williams, “What Is the Reason For It?,” is focused on codifying “love in a way logic can rarely accomplish.”

The first single (and video, directed by Gabriel Barcia-Columbo) “Everybody Laughs,” is out now.

“Everybody lives, dies, laughs, cries, sleeps, and stares at the ceiling,” says Byrne. “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.”