David Byrne Plays Talking Heads Classics on NPR ‘Tiny Desk’ Concert

David Byrne and his gigantic band of blue-clad backing musicians squeezed into the NPR offices for a Tiny Desk Concert, featuring a pair of Talking Heads classics. 

While the setup didn’t necessarily allow for the elaborate choreography Byrne and Co. bring to their live performances, there was still plenty of energy throughout the four-song set. Byrne opened with two tracks from his most recent album, Who Is the Sky?, starting with “Everybody Laughs,” which was followed by “Don’t Be Like That.” 

Next, Byrne and his band delivered a boisterous rendition of  “(Nothing But) Flowers,” bringing the song to a close with a chill-inducing blast of a cappella harmonies. And to wrap up their set, Byrne led the group through the Fear of Music favorite, “Life During Wartime.” 

Byrne released Who Is the Sky? back in September, with the album marking his first solo release since 2018’s American Utopia. He’s already spent much of the fall on the road in support of the album, and has a few more gigs left before the run wraps Dec. 6 in Miami. (Dates in Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., and Europe will follow in 2026.)

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Byrne once again dampened hopes for a possible Talking Heads reunion, even after he and his old bandmates — Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison — reunited for several events promoting the Stop Making Sense re-release. Still, Byrne spoke about readily incorporating fresh versions of Talking Heads classics into his sets — including “Psycho Killer,” which he hadn’t played in 19 years — without falling into the nostalgia trap.

“I can mix and match and have it adapt to the sound that I’m doing at the moment without completely destroying the integrity of the older songs,” he said. “But I’m also aware that there’s a real trap. If you do too much of the older material, you become a legacy act that comes out and plays the old hits. You cash in really quick, but then you’ve dug yourself a hole.”