David Byrne took to the
Coachella stage this weekend with a characteristically theatrical performance, drawing heavily from the
Talking Heads catalogue alongside material from his recent solo record.
Backed by a full troupe of singers and dancers who performed customised routines for each song, Byrne ran through a thirteen-track setlist that included '
Psycho Killer', '
Once In A Lifetime', '
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)', '
Burning Down The House', '(Nothing But) Flowers' and '
Slippery People'. His 2008 Brian Eno collaboration 'Strange Overtones', taken from '
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today', also featured, as did selections from solo album '
Who Is The Sky?'.
Political imagery played a role in proceedings too. During '
Life During Wartime', the screens behind the stage displayed images from anti-ICE and pro-Palestine protests.
Beyond Coachella, Byrne has a string of European commitments lined up for June. These include festival appearances at Latitude, Open'er, Bilbao BBK, Mad Cool and Roskilde, alongside shows at Cardiff Castle, Halifax and Edinburgh. He recently wrapped a UK and European tour behind 'Who Is The Sky?', and has since followed that record with the Eno co-written single 'T-shirt'. Addressing the importance of helping others amid the current political climate, the track has been performed live alongside slogans such as 'Make America Gay Again' and 'No Kings'.
Earlier this year, Byrne also covered Olivia Rodrigo's '
Drivers License' as part of celebrations marking the track's five-year anniversary. Rodrigo responded on Instagram, describing Byrne as one of her all-time heroes and adding that she cried when she heard his version of the song.
