New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The cast album for the critically acclaimed Broadway production of
David Byrne's American Utopia, with music and lyrics by
David Byrne, is now available on a double CD, following its recent digital release. The album will be available in a double-vinyl edition on December 27 and is available to pre-order in the Top40-Charts Store. To pick up a copy of the CD, pre-order the vinyl, and download the album head to the Top40-Charts Store now. You can also hear it on iTunes, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, and other digital service providers.
"Dazzling, rapturous and jubilant," exclaims the New York Times of the show. "Byrne puts the central tenet of making contact with a world outside your mind into dynamic, sensory practice onstage." "Gorgeously designed, deliciously fun," says the New Yorker, "backed by a rangy, versatile, exuberant band ... Most important, the songs sound great." "Astonishing," raves Hollywood Reporter. "A knockout celebration of music, dance and song. Pure bliss." "A heady swirl of hope for our anxious times," says Rolling Stone. "The concert-theater-dance spectacle finds solace in human connections … a tonic for our tumultuous times..."
American Utopia began as an album, also released by Nonesuch, which received a Grammy nomination and was the first by Byrne to reach #1 on the Album Chart; it was also his first to reach the Top Five on the Billboard 200 chart. The concert tour in support of American Utopia, which inspired the Broadway show, included songs from the new album along with music from
Talking Heads and Byrne's solo career. Byrne and the ensemble performed more than 150 dates in twenty-seven countries over nine months. The British publication NME said it "may just be the best live show of all time."
Byrne performed "
One Fine Day" from
David Byrne's American Utopia on Jimmy Kimmel Live! from the Brooklyn Academy of
Music (BAM) last month. He and the Broadway ensemble will be musical guests on the
Tonight Show Starring
Jimmy Fallon next Tuesday, November 19.
David Byrne's American Utopia features
David Byrne with Jacquelene Acevedo, Gustavo Di Dalva,
Daniel Freedman, Chris Giarmo, Tim Keiper, Tendayi Kuumba, Karl Mansfield, Mauro Refosco, Stéphane San Juan, Angie Swan, and
Bobby Wooten III; Davi Viera also performs on the album. The show's design team includes Rob Sinclair (lighting) and Pete Keppler (sound). Karl Mansfield and Mauro Refosco are Musical Directors. Choreography and Musical Staging is by Annie-B Parson. Alex Timbers serves as Production Consultant.
Fresh off a pre-Broadway engagement at Boston's Emerson Colonial Theatre,
David Byrne's American Utopia began performances on October 4 at the intimate Hudson Theatre on Broadway and celebrated opening night on October 20. Byrne and company perform six times a week through January 19, 2020. More information and tickets are available here.
David Byrne's American Utopia is the once-in-a-lifetime Broadway event that delivers "an experience unlike anything else" (Billboard) and marks a major cultural milestone in the worlds of music and theater.
David Byrne shares the spotlight with a diverse ensemble of eleven musical artists from around the globe to deliver "a marvel of staging and motion" (Chicago Tribune) that's a "thought-provoking example of the power of live music" (Forbes).
David Byrne's recent works include the launch of Reasons to be Cheerful, an online magazine focused on solutions-oriented stories about problems being solved all over the world (2019); Joan of Arc: Into the Fire, a theatrical exploration of the historical heroine that premiered at the Public Theater in New York (2017); The
Institute Presents: NEUROSOCIETY, a series of interactive environments created in conjunction with PACE Arts + Technology that question human perception and bias (2016); Contemporary Color, an event inspired by the American folk tradition of color guard and performed at Brooklyn's Barclays Center and Toronto's Air Canada Centre (2015); Here Lies Love, a twenty-two-song theatrical production about the life of Imelda Marcos, authored in collaboration with
Fatboy Slim that premiered at The Public Theater in New York (2013), traveled to London's
National Theater for a sold-out run (2014-15), and was remounted at the Seattle Repertory Theater (2017); Love This Giant, a studio album and worldwide tour created with
St. Vincent (2012); and How
Music Works, a book about the history, experience, and social aspects of music (2012).
Byrne curated Southbank Centre's annual Meltdown festival in London in 2015. A co-founder of the group
Talking Heads (1976-88), he has released eight studio albums as a solo artist and worked on multiple other projects, including collaborations with Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson, and Jonathan Demme, among others. He also founded the highly respected record label Luaka Bop. Recognition of Byrne's various works include Obies,
Drama Desk, Lortel, and Evening Standard awards for Here Lies Love; an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden
Globe for the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor; and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Talking Heads. Byrne's work as a visual artist has been published and exhibited since his college days, including photography, filmmaking, and writing. He lives in New York City.
In addition to American Utopia on Broadway, Nonesuch has released eight other
David Byrne records since 2003, including last year's American Utopia studio album and two versions of his musical Here Lies Love.
