David Byrne brought theatrics and choreography to the Coachella stage this weekend – see the full setlist and footage below.
The energetic set saw him dipping liberally into his back catalogue to perform a set comprised largely of Talking Heads classics – including ‘Psycho Killer’, ‘Once In A Lifetime’, ‘This Must Be The Place’ and ‘Burning Down The House’.
The 73-year-old’s shows are famously flamboyantly constructed and feature a troupe of backing singers and dancers, with each track getting a customised routine.
Mixed in among the set were tracks from his recent solo album ‘Who Is The Sky?’ and there was also an outing for his classic Brian Eno collaboration ‘Strange Overtones’, from 2008’s ‘Everything That Happens Will Happen Today’.
Byrne allowed politics to come into his set too, rounding out a rendition of Talking Heads’ ‘Life During Wartime’ by showing images of anti-ICE and pro-Palestine protests on the big screens behind the stage.
Check out footage here:
David Byrne en Coachella pic.twitter.com/HaJhJqJ8Qs
— Tráfico Cultural (@traficocultural) April 12, 2026
🔥🏠🔥🏠🔥🏠🔥🏠🔥🔥🏠#DavidByrne #Coachella #Weekend1 #ConcertPeopleAtHome pic.twitter.com/valXQCgWZy
— #ConcertPeople ✌❤🎶𝄞 (@Concert_People) April 12, 2026
David Byrne at Coachella OUTDOOR THEATRE Day2
デヴィッド・バーンが観れる日が来るなんて。
今までコーチェラの会場の何処にいたのって程の老齢の方々が前方に。25分押して結果ジャスティンビーバーの裏アクト。そんな中ジャスティンの裏で踊るギャルがいて素晴らしい#Coachella #Coachella2026 pic.twitter.com/kccFVEB9rN
— ロイ (@suberubar) April 12, 2026
David Byrne この体制で“Psycho Killer”やるの⁉️これはサマソニめちゃくちゃ期待しちゃうじゃんね✨…しかしこれ諸々対応できるのかサマソニ😅
フェスで観るよりガーデンシアターとかでしっかりガッツリ向き合いたいな🤔 pic.twitter.com/CUE5VKhdRN
— yumyum_ma_mi (@yy_ma_mi) April 12, 2026
Love David Byrne….hope the kids at Coachella were paying attention and appreciated the genius they were witnessing last night
“Love and Kindness are a form of resistance” pic.twitter.com/rCxJeCpbK4
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) April 12, 2026
DAVID BYRNE PERFORMING HOUSES IN MOTION AT COACHELLA 2026 pic.twitter.com/MAQzWaiKmB
— Xochitl👀 | SAW DAVID BYRNE (4/7) (@lazybanana123) April 12, 2026
David Byrne played:
‘Everybody Laughs’
‘And She Was’
‘Strange Overtones’
‘Houses In Motion’
‘(Nothing But) Flowers’
‘This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)’
‘What Is The Reason For It?’
‘Slippery People’
‘When We Are Singing’
‘Psycho Killer’
‘Life During Wartime’
‘Once In A Lifetime’
‘Burning Down The House’
Byrne recently completed a UK and European tour in support of ‘Who Is The Sky?’and will be returning in June for shows around the continent, including festival slots at Latitude, Open’er, Bilbao BBK, Mad Cool and Roskilde, and he also has dates booked in at Cardiff Castle, as well as Halifax and Edinburgh. Find remaining tickets here.
Weeks after releasing that album, Byrne shared a new single, ‘T-shirt’, co-written by Eno. Written about the importance of helping others amid the current political climate, it has been accompanied live by slogans including ‘Make America Gay Again’ and ‘No Kings’.
Byrne’s previous political statements have included sharing a playlist called ‘The Beautiful Shitholes’ in 2018 in response to comments Donald Trump was reported to have made regarding “shithole countries”.
Earlier this year, he covered Olivia Rodrigo’s single ‘Drivers License’ as part of the track’s five-year anniversary celebrations. In an Instagram post, Rodrigo described Byrne as “one of my all-time heroes”, saying: “I actually cried when I heard his version of this song”.
The B-side of that single, which was released on a special edition translucent ruby 7”, included the live version of Talking Heads’ ‘Burning Down The House’ which Rodrigo and Byrne performed during the former’s headline set at New York’s Governors Ball last summer.
