The Talking Heads frontman introduces an unlikely collaboration.

This summer, David Byrne will pair the likes of Kelis, St. Vincent, Dev “Blood Orange” Hynes, How To Dress Well, Tune-Yards and Nelly Furtado with 10 teenage color guard squads — yes, the flag-twirling teams that spun out of band competitions.

“I’d never seen anything like it,” Byrne said of color guard, which he describes as “wildly creative in a vernacular way” and “an under-the-radar art form.”

“Because it was in an arena, I could tell that this was a hugely popular thing, but completely unknown to 98 percent of New Yorkers,” he said. And while he had to explain what color guard was to his collaborators, he also had to explain who he was to the color guards. “I’m a little old to be in their world.”

Contemporary Color will be presented in Toronto (June 22 & 23) and Brooklyn (June 27 & 28). Byrne contributed an original number, with composer Nico Muhly and This American Life host Ira Glass collaborating on a piece, as well. [via NYT]