David Byrne joins Olivia Rodrigo at Gov Ball

The Governor's Ball Festival (Gov Ball) took place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, with Olivia Rodrigo as a headliner for Saturday, June 7.

During her set, she introduced special guest David Byrne, who entered the stage holding an acoustic guitar and wearing red overalls over a white shirt. Together, they performed the 1983 Talking Heads song "Burning Down the House", their highest-charting song in the US. Their choreography included jogging in a callback to the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, where Byrne jogs with Alex Weir during the final section of this song.

Following the show, she posted on Instagram to state "can’t believe I got to sing with one of the greatest of all time @davidbyrneofficial will remember this forever!!!!" alongside videos of their performance, while David Byrne posted a reel stating "fun night with @oliviarodrigo and her amazing band".

This is not their first crossover, as David Byrne was spotted in attendance at one of Olivia Rodrigo's concerts at Madison Square Garden in April 2024, followed by appearing in a backstage photo with Rodrigo that she shared in an Instagram post.

Olivia Rodrigo has previously brought out surprise guests at her shows, including Sheryl Crow, Lily Allen, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, and Chappell Roan. She has also been brought out as a surprise guest by Billy Joel and No Doubt. David Byrne has a long history of being a surprise guest at concerts, with examples including Natalia Lafourcade, Maggie Rogers, Crowded House, Paul Simon, Hot Chip, Café Tacvba, Yo La Tengo, Arcade Fire, and 10,000 Maniacs.

This is the third time that Byrne has performed a Speaking in Tongues song so far in 2025, with the other two being "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)" with Robyn for Saturday Night Live in February and "Slippery People" with Annie and the Caldwells at the Reasons to be Cheerful variety show Amazing Humans Doing Amazing Things in May. These three songs were also all included in his 2018 American Utopia tour and Broadway residency from 2019 to 2022. With a new single, music video, album, and tour on the horizon, it's possible that all three could remain part of his upcoming setlists.