Talking Heads are in a room together again, and nobody is picking up an instrument. SiriusXM launches Talking Heads Radio on 1 October, a pop-up channel marking more than five decades of the band's music, and the centrepiece is a conversation featuring all four members, airing on launch day at noon ET.
The channel has an end date as well as a start. It runs through 22 October in subscribers' cars on Channel 145 and through 31 October on the SiriusXM app, carrying hits, deep cuts, guest DJ sets, commentary and what the broadcaster describes as exclusive stories.
The filmed part comes first. David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth sit down before a live audience at SiriusXM's New York studios on 28 September at 7pm ET for a Front Row Q&A hosted by the musician Este Haim. Fans could submit video or voice messages and questions through the broadcaster's submission page, and subscribers could enter to attend in person up to 22 September.
Getting all four in one place remains rare. The band regrouped publicly in 2023 to promote the 40th-anniversary restoration of Stop Making Sense, appearing together at the Toronto International Film Festival for a screening and a Q&A moderated by Spike Lee. Before that, their last joint public appearance had been the 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, apart from a promotional appearance in 1999 tied to the concert film's fifteenth anniversary.
The difference this time is the setting. A film festival screening is an event with a subject; a radio channel is three weeks of the band's own catalogue, curated with their commentary sitting on top of it, which is a more sustained public presence than they have offered since the band ended.
The channel also promises updates on upcoming projects, and for one member that category is crowded. Byrne released a surprise expanded edition of his solo album Who Is the Sky? earlier that week with four bonus tracks, and his tour behind it finished in New York on 19 September.
He has a book out too. Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up is published on 6 October, with supporting events in North America and the UK, so the SiriusXM slot lands in the middle of a busy autumn rather than in a quiet one.
No live dates, recordings or reissues were announced alongside the channel. Our rock coverage of Byrne's other projects includes his North American book tour for Sleeping Beauties and the concert film he made of his latest live show. The band's old Bowery home is also back in the news, with the CBGB owners hunting for a New York room.
The facts
- SiriusXM launches Talking Heads Radio on 1 October 2026.
- The channel runs to 22 October on Channel 145 and to 31 October on the app.
- A conversation with all four members airs on launch day at noon ET.
- David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth take part.
- They sit for a Front Row Q&A at SiriusXM's New York studios on 28 September.
- Este Haim hosts that session before a live audience at 7pm ET.
- The band last appeared together in 2023 for the Stop Making Sense restoration.
- No live dates, recordings or reissues were announced.
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