David Byrne, who is currently touring the world with his 12-piece Who Is The Sky? ensemble, recently stopped by the NPR offices and crammed the whole gang behind the most famous working surface in music for his debut NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert.
As NPR‘s Robin Hilton explains in the video’s description, the former Talking Heads frontman’s current touring production, while heavy on personnel, is uniquely suited for a Tiny Desk Concert: “When we learned he wanted to have more than a dozen performers at the Tiny Desk, playing everything from cello, saxophone and marimba to a Brazilian timbau and zabumba (not to mention various guitars and keys), we weren’t sure we’d be able to fit it all in,” she wrote. “It turns out his latest tour, for the album Who Is The Sky?, is well designed for our roughly 10 by 11-foot space. Though Byrne and his band do normally spread out across large stages, the set design for each show is almost completely bare, without any cables or amps, and the artists wear or carry compact, custom-made instruments to make it easier to move, almost like a marching band.”
While their movements may be more confined than usual behind the desk, the cramped quarters only seemed to amplify the cast’s acclaimed exuberance as they open the performance with a pair of Who Is The Sky? favorites—the emblematic lead single “Everybody Laughs” and the upbeat “Don’t Be Like That”—then dip into the Talking Heads well for “(Nothing But) Flowers”, a staple of the current tour’s setlist.
To round out the Tiny Desk performance on an invigorating note, David Byrne and company turn to yet another Talking Heads favorite that has become a defining moment in his Who Is The Sky? shows, “Life During Wartime”. While live performances of the 1979 Fear of Music track on the ongoing tour have been accompanied by harrowing footage of police violence and contemporary political discord, the Tiny Desk rendition was no less impactful (or infectious) with the NPR offices as a backdrop.
Watch the full David Byrne NPR Tiny Desk Concert below. Read Live For Live Music‘s full review of David Byrne’s particularly weighty 10/18/25 Who Is The Sky? show at The Met Philadelphia: Everybody Resists: David Byrne Brings Subversive Love To Philadelphia On No Kings Day. Scroll down to find the full setlist and personnel details.
David Byrne will wrap up the 2026 leg of his Who Is The Sky? world tour this week with shows in Atlanta, GA (12/2, 12/3) and Miami, FL (12/5, 12/6). In January, he’ll head overseas for dates in Australia, Europe, and the U.K. throughout the first three months of 2026. Find tickets to upcoming David Byrne tour dates here.
David Byrne – Tiny Desk Concert – Full Video
Setlist: David Byrne | NPR Tiny Desk Concert | Published 12/2/25
Set: Everybody Laughs, Don’t Be Like That, (Nothing But) Flowers, Life During Wartime
David Byrne: Tiny Desk Concert – Full Personnel Credits
MUSICIANS
David Byrne: vocals, guitar
Mauro Refosco: percussion, music director
Ray Suen: guitar, bass, violin, music director
Kely Pinheiro: bass, cello
Daniel Mintseris: keys
Stephane San Juan: drums
Tim Keiper: percussion
Yuri Yamashita: percussion, marimba
Tendayi Kuumba: background vocals
Sasha Rivero: background vocals
Hannah Straney: background vocals
Sean Donovan: background vocals
Jordan Dobson: saxophone, background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Robin Hilton
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Sofia Seidel
Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
Production Assistants: Dora Levite, Dhanika Pineda
Photographer: Michael Zamora
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton