U2 are already rehearsing for a new stadium tour, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. will be making his full return to the stage after undergoing surgery.
The rock icons recently announced their “messy, provocative, sacred collection of songs” with new album ‘Carnaval De Luz’, which arrives on November 13.
Produced by Jacknife Lee, the 12-song collection tackles themes of spirituality, friendship, freedom and endurance, and comes on the heels of the group releasing two six-track EPs earlier this year: ‘Days Of Ash’ and ‘Easter Lily’.
They dropped a new taster of the album, ‘Silencio’, last week, and went on to play some surprise shows – including a stop at their former high school in Dublin and a gig from the balcony of a cafe.
Now, it has been reported that they are gearing up to announce a huge stadium tour, which will see them play all dates with drummer Larry Mullen Jr.
Present alongside Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton at last week’s surprise gigs, those shows marked the first live performances from Mullen since undergoing neck and back surgery in 2023, and subsequently sitting out of U2’s residency shows at the Las Vegas Sphere.
Speaking to Rolling Stone about rehearsing for their soon-to-be-announced tour dates, Mullen spoke about how he has been playing their older songs differently than how he recorded them, and is “pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t sounding old”.
He also said that he is still unsure whether he has recovered enough to perform night after night with no issues. “Even if I can’t play for two and a half hours, if I can play for an hour, that’s enough. I’ve had it so good that I’ll accept that,” he said.
Bono added: “I just pray that we are all well. And that Larry, of all of us, keeps hold of his fitness.”
As for what their setlists will look like going forward, The Edge said that they have “about 11” new songs both the album and the EPs in the setlists, and Bono said that alongside the huge stadium gigs, they are also considering more intimate tour dates to showcase new material.
More details about the upcoming gigs are expected to be announced soon.
Ahead of the surprise shows last week, NME was treated to a playback of four tracks from their new album ‘Carnaval De Luz’ at former music venue McGonagles, where U2 played many of their early shows in the late 70s.
On the record, there is a song called ‘Torn’ which features Dolly Parton’s last recorded vocal performance, and another song about “extraordinary artist” Rosalía.
As far back as 2024, guitarist The Edge shared that U2’s next record would not be “a straight-up rock thing”, and last summer saw Bono share that he was “ready for the future” with U2, with the band having written “25 great songs” for their new album.
Earlier in the year while discussing the writing process, the frontman said that U2 were overcoming the past to make “the sound of the future”.
The Las Vegas Sphere opened its doors with the U2 residency in September 2023. Reviewing the band’s Vegas show, NME hailed the band for “taking the live concert experience ‘to the next level’” and delivering “a fine balancing act of doing just that while also ensuring their music remains very much at the forefront”.
