One minute the band's just wrapped up Talking Heads' "This Must Be The Place," the next someone's up reciting lines from Scottish poet Robert Burns — that's the whole gimmick behind David Byrne's Night. The tribute project started life in 2023 as a pop-up show at Hackney's MOTH Club, and now it's announced a five-city UK tour for 2027, with the biggest stop landing at London's Troxy — the largest show the project has ever staged.
The 2027 tour dates are: January 15 at New Century Hall, Manchester; January 16 at Brudenell Social Club, Leeds; January 21 at Chalk, Brighton; January 23 at Troxy, London; January 25 at Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow.
The lineup rotates from show to show, with the Troxy date bringing together members of English Teacher and The Pogues
David Byrne's Night works by pulling together musicians from the indie, punk and experimental scenes into a temporary "supergroup" to take turns performing Talking Heads and David Byrne solo material. Confirmed members for the Troxy show so far come from English Teacher, The Pogues, The Horrors, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Goat Girl, Imogen and the Knife, Orchestra (tentative), 1000 rabbits and Ebbb; the other dates will also feature VLURE, Tooth, Hank, The Ninth Wave, Hutch, Bathing Suits, Butch Kassidy, thistle and YAANG, among others.
The project was founded by Dundee native Lola Stephen, who's framed the show as a tribute to two great Scots — Scottish-born David Byrne and 18th-century poet Robert Burns. Past lineups have been similarly stacked, with names including Black Country, New Road, Charlotte Adigéry + Bolis Pupil, DEADLETTER, Dream Wife, Fat Dog, Lambrini Girls, The Last Dinner Party, Los Bitchos, Lynks, Mary In The Junkyard, Model/Actriz, PVA, shame, Sorry, SPRINTS, Squid, Wunderhorse, and even Adam Buxton.
The 2027 tour follows a sold-out four-date run earlier this year (including a stop at London's KOKO), plus appearances at festivals like Green Man, Wide Awake, All Together Now and Latitude. The timing also happens to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Talking Heads' debut album, "Talking Heads: 77."
As for David Byrne himself, recent news includes him writing a song for an "unflinching" Elon Musk documentary, with lyrics drawn entirely from Musk's own statements; his solo tour "Who Is The Sky?" is also headed to theaters, with the main performance shot on 70mm by director Brady Corbet; he'll also be doing a UK bookstore tour to promote his new book, "Sleeping Beauties." He recently shared a stage with Anna Calvi too, performing their collaboration "Strange Weather" together in Halifax and Cardiff.
Details for 2027 tour tickets will be confirmed via official announcements.
