Seven years after rolling through the Orpheum Theatre on what’s widely considered one of the best concert tours of the 21st century, David Byrne will return to the same Minneapolis performance hall for what sounds like another unique outing.
The Talking Heads frontman announced two Orpheum dates Nov. 3 and 4 in support of his new album, “Who Is the Sky?” which he recorded with the New York chamber music ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra and Harry Styles’ producer Kid Harpoon. Tickets for the weeknight shows go on sale Friday via Ticketmaster.com priced $113-$456, with presale access available starting Tuesday for those who sign up via Byrne’s website.
As he did on his American Utopia Tour in 2018, Byrne will perform with a large musical ensemble that will roam the stage on this tour. That highly dynamic performance concept led to a Grammy-winning Broadway show and a Spike Lee-directed concert film.
“Who Is the Sky?” promises to be a different kind of album, though. He released the first single from the LP on Tuesday, a joyous anthem laden with orchestral strings titled “Everybody Laughs.” The record is due to land Sept. 5 via legendary NYC indie label Matador Records.
The video for “Everybody Laughs” was one of two new music clips associated with Byrne to go viral over the past week. A new video for the Talking Heads classic “Psycho Killer” starring Saoirse Ronan also was released last week to mark the band’s 50th anniversary.
Byrne, 73, reunited with his old bandmates last year for several talking appearances around the 40th anniversary rerelease of their groundbreaking concert film “Stop Making Sense,” but he has not relented on his refusals to reform the group for live shows. He and the Talking Heads first performed in Minnesota in 1977 at Minneapolis’ long-gone punk-rock haven the Longhorn Bar.
