Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz has sparked rumors of a band reunion with a new Instagram post teasing a run of December events. On social media, Frantz posted an image of the Pantages Theatre marquee in Los Angeles, CA advertising Talking Heads on December 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th at 8 p.m. with tickets available at all Ticketron outlets. The caption simply reads “We shall return.” Fellow Talking Head Jerry Harrison responded in the comments, “See you there.”
There are layers of meaning to the drummer’s cryptic post. The Pantages Theatre is the site where Talking Heads recorded their iconic live album and concert film Stop Making Sense in 1983. Talking Heads—Frantz, Harrison, David Byrne, and Tina Weymouth—are currently promoting a 4k reissue of the film by A24 and a deluxe edition of the soundtrack which arrived last year. In advance of the rereleases, the four original members of Talking Heads reunited in Toronto for a Q&A session, marking their first public appearance together in over 20 years, and went on to log a handful of other promotional appearances.
While the four December dates with “Talking Heads” referenced in Frantz’s post may seem cut-and-dried, Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, and Weymouth have a previously announced Stop Making Sense screening and Q&A already scheduled at the Pantages for June 4th, so these newly revealed events may be more of the same.
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Rumors of Talking Heads reunion concerts have swelled since the Stop Making Sense reissue campaign began. Following the Q&A appearance, the band members have been hounded by the press with questions about whether they would ever perform onstage again. They have all remained fairly adamant that those days are behind them, with Weymouth and Frantz both citing Byrne’s alleged personality issues as the driving force keeping them apart. Weymouth has described the frontman as “insecure” while Frantz said in 2020 that Byrne’s “brain is wired in such a way that he doesn’t know where he ends and other people begin. He can’t imagine that anyone else would be important.”
Byrne has publicly accepted his role in the band’s 1991 breakup. He said he regrets the way things ended—with his bandmates alleging that they were informed of the group’s breakup by seeing it on the news rather than from Byrne himself—and saying he was a “little tyrant” at that time. Since Talking Heads’ 1991 breakup, the group appeared publicly in 1999 to promote a previous Stop Making Sense reissue. The four members last played publicly in 2002 at their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which marked their only live performance since 1984. Harrison continues to perform Talking Heads music on the road alongside longtime touring member Adrian Belew with their Remain in Light project.
Reports have circulated that the band has already turned down big money for reunion concerts. Billboard reported back in January that Coachella promoter Goldenvoice was prepared to offer Talking Heads $10 million to play the two-weekend festival, but Goldenvoice president Paul Tollett sensed a reunion wasn’t in the cards when he spoke to the band at the Toronto Q&A and eventually decided not to officially extend the invitation. Live Nation, however, did reportedly offer the band $80 million for a run of six to eight festival appearances and headlining shows, which they turned down.