David Byrne | ICC Sydney Theatre 2026

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American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker, David Byrne will return to Australia and New Zealand in January 2026 in support of his new album Who Is The Sky? - out September 5, 2025, via Remote Control/Matador.

Last in Australia and New Zealand in 2018 for his critically acclaimed American Utopia tour, David's brand-new live show will comprise of 13 musicians, singers and dancers, including members of the American Utopia band, all of whom will be mobile throughout the set. The North American tour begins in September, with Australia & New Zealand dates kicking off in January 2026, presented by Frontier Touring.

Who Is the Sky? is David's first new album since 2018's award-winning American Utopia. The album was produced by the Grammy-winning Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), while its 12 songs were arranged by the members of New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra.

Musical friends old and new, including St. Vincent, Paramore's Hayley Williams, The Smile drummer Tom Skinner and American Utopia percussionist Mauro Refosco, also make appearances on Who Is the Sky?, which is led by the infectious single 'Everybody Laughs.'

In 2023, as his triumphant American Utopia era came to a close after morphing from an album and tour into an acclaimed Broadway show and then a Spike Lee-directed HBO film, Byrne began jotting down the occasional groove, chord or melody. It had been a minute.

Byrne's attempts to answer those weighty questions can be found on Who Is The Sky?, which builds upon the optimistic themes laid out by American Utopia and its supporting tour, and more specifically spelled out by the Grammy-winning Broadway show and subsequent movie. With this offering, Byrne continues his lifelong exploration of human connection and the potential for societal unity against the chaotic backdrop of the world. Who Is the Sky? is particularly cinematic, humorous and joyful, but often with a lesson baked in - that love is unexplainable, that enlightenment means very different things to different people and that it's always a good idea to moisturise, whether you wake up the next morning with skin like a baby or not. Most importantly, the songs evince Byrne's gift for riding the razor's edge of avant-garde and accessible pop.