Jerry Harrison brings ’50 Years of Talking Heads’ to Summerfest

It’s eminently safe to say that the Talking Heads will never, ever, ever reunite. Any shred of hope for a proper reunion—and that’s all it was, a shred—was tossed to the wind in 2023 and 2024 when the band members regrouped to promote the 40th anniversary of Stop Talking Sense…but did not perform. It seems the world will never see David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz perform as the Talking Heads again.

So what’s the next best thing? Well, seeing Byrne, obviously, who plays many Heads songs in his solo shows. But if you’ve missed out on Byrne, there’s also Harrison. The guitarist and keyboardist (and Modern Lover, and producer, and Milwaukee native) has been keeping the Heads flame alive for years. He’s appeared alongside local and national screenings of Stop Making Sense, and has toured with a full band—a band complete with legendary guitarist and original Heads touring member Adrian Belew—behind the Remain In Light album. And now there’s Jerry Harrison’s 50 Years of Talking Heads (or TH50, if you prefer), a new show Harrison brought to Summerfest‘s Uline Warehouse Saturday afternoon.

On paper, the show promises to deliver “the group’s most beloved hits alongside deep fan favorites, honoring one of the most groundbreaking catalogs in rock history.” On Saturday, the 60-minute set as performed by Harrison and his nine-piece band—the same band from the Remain In Light tour, it seemed—focused almost exclusively on songs found on Stop Making Sense. Here’s the setlist:

Psycho Killer
Crosseyed And Painless
Houses In Motion
Slippery People
Heaven
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Life During Wartime
Take Me To The River

Harrison handled vocal duties on songs like “Psycho Killer,” “Crosseyed And Painless,” and “Life During Wartime.” Though perhaps a bit soft-spoken, the 77-year-old proved to be a solid Talking Heads frontman; there were moments that, if you didn’t know any better, you’d have sworn Byrne was on the mic. Two female singers—including Sammi Garett of Cool Cool Cool—took over on songs like “Slippery People,” “Heaven,” and “Take Me To The River.” Though Harrison boasted at the top of the show that the ladies did a killer version of “Burning Down The House,” the song didn’t make an appearance.

So what to make of a Talking Heads show featuring only one Talking Heads member (Harrison) and one Talking Heads touring member (Belew)? Is it a cover band? A tribute band? Something else entirely? Eh, who cares—it was good! And a lot of fun! Harrison sounded great, the band sounded great, and the songs were undeniable. What more do you need? It was rainy and cool at show’s start, but about halfway through the rain stopped and the sun peaked out. The Uline crowd was impressive and ever-growing, and there was a group of 20-somethings up front who were dancing, laughing, screaming along to every word, and generally flipping the fuck out.

Jerry Harrison’s “50 Years of Talking Heads” show was…really good! And the crowd was…REALLY into it! pic.twitter.com/B2JclzQS9V

— Matt Wild (@ByMattWild) July 4, 2026