NEED TO KNOW
Olivia Rodrigo knows how to Byrne down the house!
On Saturday, June 7, the “Vampire” singer, 22, surprised the crowd at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York with an appearance from David Byrne during her headlining set at the Governors Ball 2025. The pair teamed up for a performance of his Talking Heads’ hit, “Burning Down the House.”
“I’m so honored to share the stage tonight with a special guest,” Rodrigo told the crowd toward the end of her set. “Would you give it up for the legendary, David Byrne!”
Bryne, 73, then approached the dark stage with an acoustic guitar and in a white t-shirt and red overalls — complimenting Rodrigo’s red two-piece sparkly set — as he began to play the 1983 classic.
Throughout the song, the pair exchanged verses and a number of quirky dances as they flailed their arms and jogged in place. At the end, they shared a hug as Rodrigo escorted the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer off stage.
Rodrigo later wrapped her set with “Deja Vu,” before an encore consisting of “Brutal,” “Good 4 You,” “All-American B—-” and “Get Him Back.”
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Rodrigo’s closing performance on Saturday capped off a day of delays, downpour and lengthy lines after the festival’s opening was pushed to 4:30 p.m. local time due to weather. Despite the adjusted scheduling and her new set time around 9:30 p.m., Rodrigo still made sure to provide an end-of-day surprise.
Saturday’s headlining performance came a day after Tyler, the Creator hit the festival’s GovBallNYC stage — and a day before Hozier does the same on Sunday to wrap the annual music festival in Queens.
Nina Westervelt/Billboard via Getty
Rodrigo is no stranger to bringing out special guests during festival gigs and at her arena tours. The Grammy winner has previously surprised fans with performances from Tyler Childers, Noah Kahan and Lily Allen during her Guts World Tour.
Other on-stage surprises involving Rodrigo include her appearance during No Doubt’s gig at Coachella in 2024, when Rodrigo joined Gwen Stefani and her bandmates for a performance of “Bathwater,” during which Rodrigo rocked an “I [heart] ND” tank top.
Years before, Rodrigo made a surprise appearance at a Billy Joel Madison Square Garden gig in August 2022, as she performed “Deja Vu” (which, of course, references Joel’s “Uptown Girl”). The duo then performed “Uptown Girl” together before embracing in a hug.
Following Rodrigo’s most recent festival set, Governors Ball closes out on Sunday with performances from Hozier, Clairo, Key Glock, Glass Animals, Amaarae, Raye and others.
