David Byrne to bring American Utopia to NZ

David Bryne will tour New Zealand in November.

David Byrne says his new tour is among "the most ambitious shows I've done" - and he's bringing it to New Zealand.

The former Talking Heads front man will perform three arena shows here in November as part of his American Utopia tour.

He'll be at Wellington's TSB Bank Arena on November 13, Christchurch's Horncastle Arena on November 15, and Auckland's Spark Arena on November 17.

It's his first tour here since 2009, and Byrne says this show is among his most ambitious, with a 12-piece band and a stage show choreographed by Annie-B Parson.

He'll be playing songs from his recent album American Utopia along with hits from his days in Talking Heads and from his solo career.

His tour's had rave reviews, with Rolling Stone calling it "a knockout" and the Chicago Tribune labelling it "a marvel of staging and motion that was at once utterly novel and oddly comforting".

Tickets to the all-ages shows are on sale from June 18.