Stephen Colbert has never been shy about his Talking Heads and David Byrne obsession. He has welcomed Byrne onto The Late Show on various occasions during his tenure as host, interviewed all four members of Talking Heads for their first late-night appearance together in decades (and unsuccessfully attempted to get them to perform), conveyed his regrets about skipping the legendary Stop Making Sense tour to finish a college paper, and even gushed about the ongoing Who Is The Sky? tour with a totally unrelated Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
On Tuesday, as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert continued through its final week on air, David Byrne returned to the show with his kinetic, blue-clad Who Is The Sky? ensemble to perform a fiery take on “Burning Down The House” alongside a special guest dancer: an overjoyed Stephen Colbert, dressed for the part in a blue getup of his own.
We’re all still salty about the upcoming cancellation of The Late Show for transparently political reasons, and we’re sure Colbert is the saltiest, but judging by the beaming grin on his face while he danced with his favorite artist on the Ed Sullivan Theater stage, it seems like he’s allowing himself to enjoy the final fruits of his labors.
Good on you, Steve. Killer moves. Watch David Byrne perform “Burning Down The House” with special guest Stephen Colbert on The Late Show below.
David Byrne ft. Stephen Colbert – “Burning Down The House” – The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – 5/19/26
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air its penultimate episode tonight, Wednesday, May 20th, featuring a performance by Bruce Springsteen. The long-running late-night talk show will then say goodbye with its series finale on Thursday, May 21st on CBS.
Over the course of its 100+ dates, Byrne’s Who Is The Sky? live show has garnered near universal praise for everything from its free-floating, wireless band (a holdover from his beloved American Utopia tour), its towering, immersive stage screens (an evolution from Utopia‘s stark chains), and its stirring mix of wide-eyed innocence and stark social commentary. Revisit our review of a particularly charged date on the tour, a Philadelphia performance on No Kings Day, here: Everybody Resists: David Byrne Brings Subversive Love To Philadelphia On No Kings Day.
David Byrne will wind down his celebrated Who Is The Sky Tour this summer and fall with a lengthy Europe/UK leg in June and July, a five-show August stint in Asia, and a bicoastal U.S. homecoming featuring stops in San Diego, CA (8/27), Los Angeles, CA (8/28, 8/29), and Saratoga Springs, NY (9/17) ahead of a final blowout and New York’s Forest Hills Stadium on September 19th.