David Byrne is getting married this week and he has created a playlist to be played during dinner. Scottish-born singer Byrne, best known as the frontman of the new wave band Talking Heads, is engaged to financier Mala Gaonkar after dating for nearly a decade. Byrne, 73, and Gaonkar, 55, announced their engagement only recently, on August 20, though they are due to tie the knot later this week. He announced the marriage on his Instagram page @davidbyrneofficial
Alongside the announcement of his marriage, he also shared the playlist he is planning on playing while his wedding guests will hear during the dinner service. The playlist only features instrumentals as Byrne has claimed that “words and lyrics can be distracting – the ear goes to them, especially if it’s a song one knows.” Byrne’s dedication to music knows no bounds as he has even curated the soundtrack to his own wedding. Byrne has always had an ear from music made around the world, evidenced in his early Talking Head days.
The Talking Heads album ‘Remain In Light‘ features percussion inspired by Nigerian icon Fela Kuti, German experimental rock band CAN and polyrhythms featured in Afro-Caribbean music. ‘Remain in Light‘ is only one example as his worldwide influences reach through all his music.
This new playlist, titled ‘David Byrne Radio Presents; Dinner Music‘ features 42 songs and runs for just under two and a half hours. This playlist features lots of Latin-inspired instrumentals such as ‘En El Caribe Estoy Triste’ by ‘Meridian Brothers‘, ‘Pa Japón’ by ‘El Alfa‘ and ‘Guajira Sicodélica’ by ‘Los Destellos‘.
He also includes instrumentals from well-known artists such as Brian Eno (‘An Ending (Ascent)’), Jeff Beck (‘Corpus Christi Carol’), Herbie Hancock (‘Watermelon Man’) and Post Malone (‘Wow.’). Even though the playlist consists of only instrumentals, the quality is so high that guests may still be distracted while they ask their neighbours what song is playing or subtly use Shazam.
Included on the playlist is the orchestral ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. David Byrne is currently working with Ghost Train Orchestra to release a new album. The new album, titled ‘Who Is The Sky?’ will be released this Friday September 5 and is a full collaboration between the two artists. The album is available for pre-order here. Byrne and Ghost Train Orchestra have currently released three singles from the new album, ‘Everybody Laughs’, ‘The Avant Garde’ and ‘She Explains Things To Me’. A fourth single titled ‘What Is The Reason For It?’ featuring Hayley Williams (Paramore) will be released tomorrow September 3. See the music video to ‘Everybody Laughs’ below:
Byrne is also touring in the UK next year with his latest album, tickets are available here. His UK tour dates are as follows:
David Byrne 2026 UK Tour Dates;
March 2 – Cardiff Utilita Arena
March 3 – London Eventim Apollo
March 4 – London Eventim Apollo
March 6 – Glasgow Armadillo
March 7 – Glasgow Armadillo
March 9 – Manchester O2 Apollo
March 10 – Manchester O2 Apollo
March 11 – Manchester O2 Apollo
March 15 – London Eventim Apollo
March 16 – London Eventim Apollo
