An Evening with David Byrne: Sleeping Beauties

David Byrne is coming to St George's Bristol on Thursday 12 November, for a solo talk that's part of a strictly limited run of five dates across the UK. It's not a gig — there's no band on stage this time — just Byrne on his own, talking through the ideas in his forthcoming book, Sleeping Beauties.

The book looks at why some ideas take off immediately while others stay hidden for years, and it celebrates the visionaries who were well ahead of their time. That's the ground he'll be covering on the night: the gap between when an idea first appears and when the rest of us finally catch up to it. If you've followed his work, it's exactly the kind of thing he's always been interested in — the odd, the overlooked, and the way things fit together in ways most people don't notice.

It's a good moment to take stock of where he's coming from. Since co-founding Talking Heads in 1975, his work has moved far beyond the music: he's done film, theatre — American Utopia and Here Lies Love — photography, and visual art. And he's still recording: his latest album, Who Is The Sky?, came out in 2025. This talk sits alongside all that, and it's one of only five times he'll be doing it across the country, so Bristol is one of very few stops on the tour.

Practical bits: it starts at 7.30pm in the Main Hall, and tickets were from £30, though they're sold out now. If you did manage to get one, you can add a hardback copy of Sleeping Beauties for £19 (RRP £26), which you collect at the event. You can also pre-order food and drink from the Café Bar to have ready before it kicks off. It's suitable for ages 14 and up, and Byrne's fees from the night go to the Rocksteady Foundation.