The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and Release Athens Festival are joining forces once again to connect Greek audiences with two influential, innovative musical acts who have left indelible marks on the sound and aesthetics of recent decades. We’re reupping our successful collaboration from 2023 in 2026—a landmark year for Release Athens Festival, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and for SNF, which is celebrating its 30th—promising two days filled with musical spectacle.
On Sunday, June 21, the one and only David Byrne will put on an extraordinary show at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), as part of his Who Is the Sky tour that began in September, filled with legendary songs from his Talking Heads and solo career, with Nation of Language as the supporting act, the wonderful synth-pop trio from Brooklyn, coming to Greece for the first time. On Thursday, June 25, Gorillaz, Damon Albarn’s groundbreaking project, is coming to Greece, also, for the first time ever to treat us to an explosive audiovisual experience at Plateia Nerou. The legendary The Flaming Lips—one of the most daring bands in alternative rock—along with the multifaceted Jehnny Beth, former frontwoman of Savages, will complete the evening’s lineup.
David Byrne | Sunday, June 21, SNFCC Great Lawn
Nation of Language | Sunday, June 21, SNFCC Great Lawn
Gorillaz | Thursday, June 25, Plateia Nerou
The Flaming Lips | Thursday, June 25, Plateia Nerou
Jehnny Beth | Thursday, June 25, Plateia Nerou
To celebrate 30 years of philanthropic work, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is collaborating with Release Athens to bring music and culture closer to everyone. Thanks to SNF's contribution, ticket prices are 40-50% lower than is typical for similar events.
Sunday, June 21
Although best known for his groundbreaking tenure fronting the new wave group Talking Heads, David Byrne is also acclaimed for his adventurous solo career, encroaching upon such diverse arenas as world music, filmmaking, and performance art in the process. After Talking Heads disbanded in 1991, Byrne branched out with numerous projects, including solo albums, film and stage productions and his Luaka Bop label, which played a crucial role in introducing innovative South American and African artists to Western audiences.
Over the course of his incredible career, David has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and a Special Tony Award; he was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2017, David launched “Reasons to Be Cheerful,” first an online compendium of news stories, now a curated online magazine designed to be a “tonic for tumultuous times.” In October 2024, "Reasons to be Cheerful" hosted a variety show in New York City, featuring performance, music, comedy, and inspirational storytelling.
Nation of Language have already established themselves as one of the most exciting bands on the contemporary indie scene. With Ian Devaney's distinctive, intensely emotional songwriting and a sound that balances synthpop, minimal wave, and post-punk, the trio from Brooklyn, New York, continues to win over new audiences with each new release. Following Introduction, Presence (2020) and A Way Forward (2021), two albums that many considered the ideal soundtrack to the pandemic, the award-winning Strange Disciple (Rough Trade’s album of the year) was universally acclaimed and earned them a place at festivals such as Primavera Sound and Pitchfork Festival, while their tours are drawing ever-larger crowds. In their recent album Dance Called Memory (2025), produced by Nick Millhiser (LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!), the band expands its sound and is now emerging as the next big thing on the indie scene.
Thursday, June 25
Created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz is singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, drummer Russel Hobbs, and Japanese guitar prodigy Noodle. The BRIT and Grammy-winning virtual band formed following a collision of mishaps, meetings, and pure luck to blow up a pre-digital world with their colorful backstory and groundbreaking virtual ways. Based at Kong Studios, Gorillaz settled into a life of musical innovation with an eye-wateringly exciting roster of collaborators, a list that includes musical legends, geniuses, and future stars from Elton John to Little Simz, MF Doom to Jean-Michel Jarre, Grace Jones to slowthai, Kali Uchis to Sidiki Diabaté, plus so many more.
With eight albums to their name, Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (2011), Humanz (2017), The Now Now (2018), Song Machine: Season One – Strange Timez (2020), and Cracker Island (2023), Gorillaz is a truly global phenomenon, achieving success in entirely new and unique ways, touring the world from San Diego to Syria, Montevideo to Manchester and winning numerous awards including the coveted Jim Henson Creativity Honor. The band’s recent acclaimed run of London shows to celebrate 25 years of Gorillaz saw The Guardian declare, “Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s cartoon band are still riveting and relevant,” with The London Standard adding, “Albarn and Hewlett are still legions ahead of the pack,” and The Observer headline proclaiming, “Gorillaz stun in star-studded show of lush visuals and borderless music.” Gorillaz’s new studio album The Mountain will be released in 2026.
Even within the unique landscape of alternative rock, few bands have been as bold, inventive, and idiosyncratic as The Flaming Lips. Since their formation in Oklahoma in 1983, they have evolved into one of the most restless and creative forces in American rock music. After spending their first decade as a well-kept secret for those “in the know” in alternative rock, the release of Transmissions From The Satellite Heart (1993) and the success of “She Don’t Use Jelly” introduced them to a wider audience and paved the way for what was to follow. At the turn of the millennium, Wayne Coyne’s band delivered two albums that are now considered seminal works of contemporary rock: The Soft Bulletin (1999) and the Grammy Award-winning Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002). Since then, the Flaming Lips have continued to relentlessly explore new musical paths, striking a balance between pop, psychedelia, and avant-garde, while collaborating with artists such as Miley Cyrus, Chris Martin, the Chemical Brothers, and Yoko Ono. With 22 studio albums and dozens of experimental projects on their resume, the band remains an inexhaustible creative force—one of the most daring and authentically original bands of their generation.
From her explosive presence as frontwoman of Savages—the Mercury Prize-nominated post-punk band known for their charged live performances—Jehnny Beth has evolved into one of the most restless and multifaceted creators on the contemporary music scene. Her solo debut album, To Love Is To Live (2020), spectacularly expanded her artistic vision: bold, cinematic, and deeply emotional. Since then, Beth has multiplied her collaborations (Idles, Gorillaz, Sextile, Bobby Gillespie), while continuing her successful acting career, with notable appearances in Audiard’s Paris, 13th District and Justine Triet’s Palme d'Or and Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall. In 2020, she created the ECHOES series, giving a platform to emerging artists such as Wet Leg, Fontaines D.C., and Kneecap. In 2022, she returned to the stage with IDLES, toured with Depeche Mode in Europe, and accompanied Queens of the Stone Age in the US, where her performances at hardcore and metal festivals rekindled a new creative fire. Returning to France, she teamed up with her close collaborator Johnny Hostile to create You Heartbreaker, You, her second solo album, which was released last August.
*Ticket proceeds go exclusively to Release Athens. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is a philanthropic organization that makes grants to nonprofit organizations. SNF does not accept funds from private individuals, corporations, or any other organizations.