David Byrne’s Who Is the Sky Tour welcomed a very special guest on Thursday (10/10) at Radio City Music Hall, the third of four sold-out nights at the legendary venue.
Paramore's Hayley Williams made an unannounced appearance, joining the Talking Heads frontman for two songs that brought great joy to the fans in the Manhattan landmark.
Together they performed their duet “What Is the Reason for It?” and later reunited for “Hard Times,” the Paramore song Byrne has been covering this year on the tour.
Williams emerged from the side of the stage, blending into the seamlessly thanks to the matching blue outfit she donned.
Byrne then turned to her with a grin and introduced her to 6,000 lucky ticket holders.
If it feels like Hayley has been making herself more available than usual and totally willing to jump in with a group, it's because she has been.
In March she appeared with the Deftones, then every month this summer there she was with someone else who was equally cool.
6/05 Under the K Bridge Park, Brooklyn, with Turnstile
7/25 Newport Folk Fest with Bleachers
8/31 Brooklyn Bowl, Nashville, for Remi Wolf's Superjam
9/15 The Pinnacle, again with Turnstile
While she was in New York she live debuted her new song "True Believer" on the Tonight Show. No biggie.
Just like it was nbd when Byrne not only covered Paramore's "Hard Times," but recorded it and released it for Record Store Day last year.
“[Paramore] told me that their song ‘Hard Times’ was inspired by Talking Heads, so I learned it and recorded my version of their great song with a horn section.
"This was fun," he said in April after hearing Paramore cover "Burning Down The House" at the beginning of 2024.
"Dude, the first time we heard the demo of it — like before he went to Electric Lady and recorded it — it sounded like the earliest of Talking Heads things, it just… nobody sounds like David Byrne anyway," she said of his cover.
"But when it’s our melodies and the little parts that he included, and even the parts that he omitted, it says so much about how he creates, and what he hears, and where he places value. And then the first time we heard the finished version with the horns and stuff, it’s really unbelievable.
Byrne and Williams' relationship has stretched into co-writing.
The pair wrote the closing number "Open the Door" together for the forthcoming Netflix animated feature, The Twits, based on characters by Roald Dahl.
Williams sings: Tears are like magic and laughing is fun/If you can have both of them, why just have one?
Everything matters and all things belong/Fear is the same place that courage comes from.
Then Byrne sings: Open the door, look what we’ve done/Open your heart, how far we’ve come.
The film begins streaming on Friday.
Byrne is wowing critics and crowds alike with both the musicality of the tour, the vibe, and the wall-to-wall collection of bangers, both new and old.
"David Byrne’s recent appearance at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday was more than just a rock show—it was also a multimedia presentation, an experimental theater piece, and a dance performance all rolled up into one entertaining and joyful experience," Forbes gushed about the second night of the residency.
The good news is there's still a lot of dates left on the tour. The bad news is many of the best seats have already been taken because miraculously, David Byrne shows just get better and better.
So do yourself a favor and get your tix off David's website pronto.
Who Is The Sky Tour 2025 remaining dates
10/14 Altria Theater, Richmond, VA
10/16-10/18 The Met, Philadelphia
10/21-10/23 Massey Hall, Toronto
10/25 Fox Theatre, Detroit
10/28-10/29 & 10/31-11/1 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago
11/3-11/4 Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis
11/6-11/7 Bellco Theatre, Denver
11/11-11/13 Paramount Theatre, Seattle
11/16-11/18 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco
11/20-11/21 Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles
11/25-11/26 Bass Concert Hall, Austin
11/28-11/29 Music Hall at Fair Park, Dallas
12/2-12/3 Fox Theatre, Atlanta
12/5-12/6 The Fillmore Miami Beach, FL
