David Byrne has hailed Olivia Rodrigo’s “great relationship with her audience” and revealed his wedding plans during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
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Last night (September 3), the former Talking Heads frontman spoke to show host Fallon about his surprise addition at Rodrigo’s Governors Ball performance, which saw the two take on ‘Burning Down The House’ at her headline set back in June.
He and Rodrigo appeared to coordinate outfits, with Rodrigo sporting an all-red set while Byrne wore a white T-shirt underneath red overalls, with Byrne telling Fallon: “She sent me a picture of her outfit and I said, ‘Oh yeah, I can match that.”
They each traded lines of the song, with the pop singer attempting his trademark jaunty moves by bending her knees and running in place. He said he first crossed paths with Rodrigo on her ‘Guts’ world tour before explaining that their dance moves on stage were his idea.
“I saw her show here at Madison Square Garden and met her. I’m a fan,” Byrne said. “And she stayed in touch.”
“She said, ‘Hey, wanna join me?’” he added. “I did say, ‘Hey, if you’re in town for a couple days, maybe we can work out a little choreo.’ I had to pinch myself and go, ‘Yeah, I’m really doing this.’”
Continuing to praise the former NME cover star, Bryne said she had cultivated a “great relationship” with her audience. “Not only do they know the songs,” he said, “they mean something to them.”
His appearance on The Tonight Show came ahead of a banner week for Byrne, who today (September 5) release dhis first new solo album in seven years, ‘Who Is The Sky?’. To celebrate the release, Byrne will embark on a worldwide tour, kicking off dates in the US in September, before calling at the UK in March 2026. Any remaining US tickets can be purchased here, and UK tickets here.
Before setting off on those dates, Byrne is getting married to Mala Gaonkar this week, something he revealed on a post on his Instagram Stories, telling Fallon: “Yes! I let the cat out of the bag”.
Accompanying the news was a 42-track playlist of instrumental numbers that will play at his wedding dinner. “I’m getting married this week and made an almost entirely instrumental playlist while our guests eat an amazing and spicy dinner,” Byrne told fans, sharing a link to an Apple Music playlist which you can check out here.
“My sense is that words and lyrics can be distracting – the ear goes to them, especially if it’s a song one knows. So, I opted for buoyant instrumentals that will create a hopeful and joyous atmosphere… and that folks can also ignore at the same time.”