Gorillaz to perform in Greece for the first time at Release Athens 2026

Release Athens 2026 welcomes Gorillaz on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at Plateia Nerou – marking the band’s first and much-anticipated performance in Greece, promising an explosive audiovisual experience.

In parallel, the festival will also host David Byrne, who began his international career as the frontman of Talking Heads, on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at the Great Lawn of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC).

The World of Gorillaz

Gorillaz is a British virtual band created in London in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. The band consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, vocals), and Russel Hobbs (drums). Their world unfolds through music videos, interviews, comics, and short animated films. The group’s music features collaborations with a wide range of musicians and artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor.

With Gorillaz, Albarn moved away from the Britpop sound of Blur, exploring a variety of musical styles including hip hop, electronic, and world music. Their debut album, Gorillaz (2001), infused with dub, Latin, and punk influences, went triple platinum in the UK and double platinum across Europe, fueled by the success of their first single, “Clint Eastwood.”

Over the years, Gorillaz have performed live in various innovative ways-from being hidden from the audience in the project’s early years to projecting animated members on stage, and since 2010, touring with a fully visible live band.

The band has won one Grammy Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, one NME Award, and four MTV Europe Music Awards, and has been nominated for 11 Brit Awards, winning Best British Group in 2018.

David Byrne

David Byrne (born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was the founding member, principal songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist of the new wave band Talking Heads.

Byrne has released solo albums and worked across multiple mediums including film, photography, opera, fiction, and nonfiction. He has received an Oscar, a Grammy, a Special Tony Award, and a Golden Globe, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.

Talking Heads were pioneers of the late 1970s and early 1980s new wave scene. The band quietly went on hiatus in 1988, during which Byrne pursued a solo career. They briefly reunited in 1991 to record “Sax and Violins” before officially disbanding in December 1991. In 2002, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and reunited for a four-song set: “Psycho Killer,” “Burning Down the House,” “Once In A Lifetime,” and “Life During Wartime.”

In June 2025, Byrne released a new single titled “Everybody Laughs” and announced his upcoming solo album “Who Is the Sky?”, arranged by the Ghost Train Orchestra. The album, featuring St. Vincent, Hayley Williams, and Tom Skinner, was released in September 2025 via Matador Records, accompanied by a world tour of the same name.