By Radio.com Staff
At the very end of 2016, the members of U2 posted a video to YouTube promising some “very special” shows in honor of the 30th anniversary of their classic album The Joshua Tree, and today, they’ve revealed the details of that trek.
This morning (January 9), they announced that they’ll be returning to stadiums for “U2: The Joshua Tree Tour 2017”; each show will include a performance of The Joshua Tree in its entirety, with support from either Mumford & Sons, OneRepublic or The Lumineers in North America (Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will open in Europe).
They’ll also play Bonnaroo, their first time headlining a U.S. festival (longtime fans may recall that they played the US Festival in 1983, but didn’t headline; David Bowie headlined on the day the they played). The rest of the lineup for that festival is expected to be announced in the coming days.
The press release announcing the tour made no mention of their upcoming album, to be titled Songs of Experience, which the band said is coming this year as well.
The Joshua Tree. Every song. Every show. North America & Europe this summer. #U2TheJoshuaTree2017 Dates/Tickets… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…
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(@U2) January 09, 2017
Related: Ranking the Songs and B-sides from U2’s The Joshua Tree
“It seems like we have come full circle from when The Joshua Tree songs were originally written, with global upheaval, extreme right wing politics and some fundamental human rights at risk,” The Edge said in a press release. “To celebrate the album—as the songs seem so relevant and prescient of these times too—we decided to do these shows, it feels right for now. We’re looking forward to it.”
Bono added, “Recently I listened back to The Joshua Tree for the first time in nearly 30 years… it’s quite an opera. A lot of emotions which feel strangely current, love, loss, broken dreams, seeking oblivion, polarisation… all the greats… I’ve sung some of these songs a lot… but never all of them.” Indeed, “Red Hill Mining Town” has never been performed live, and “Exit” has only been performed once since the end of the Joshua Tree tour, according to Setlist.fm.
Mumford & Sons said, in the same press release, “It’s the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree—one of the greatest albums ever made, in our opinion, and something well worth a good celebration. It’s a record that did so much for us all when we discovered it individually and if ever a record stands the test of time its that one. So when the lads gave us a call to invite us to play a few gigs opening for them it was our great honour to accept.”
Wesley Schultz of the Lumineers added, “I can remember covering the U2 song ‘One’ in bars back in NYC 10 years ago, with Jer on drums. A lot has changed since then, but still—I never thought we’d get the chance to open for such a legendary band, on such a legendary album—The Joshua Tree. Their songs are so timeless and transcendent, it’s impossible to imagine a time when they didn’t exist. That type of songwriting has always been the mountaintop for us – songs that can transcend generations.”
Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic—who worked with the band on their Songs of Innocence album and who told Radio.com that he’s working on the follow-up, Songs of Experience—said, “The Joshua Tree is the first album I ever heard from U2 because it came out when I had just started my love affair with music as a young kid… it’s the album that made me want to write songs and start a band. Joining them for this tour will be the experience of a lifetime, leaving the bucket list fully checked.”
Per the press release, tickets for the U2: The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 are on sale Tuesday, January 17th in the US and Canada. As usual, there is an exclusive priority presale for U2 Subscribers at U2.com from Wednesday, January 11th (9am) through Friday, January 13th (5pm) local times. Tickets will be general admission on the floor and reserved seating in the stands. There will be a 4 ticket limit for subscriber purchases and a 6 ticket limit commencing with public sales. All floor tickets will be paperless unless otherwise noted.
Here are the full tour dates for the North American tour:
May 12 – Vancouver, BC @ BC Place w/ Mumford & Sons
May 14 – Seattle, WA @ CenturyLink Field w/ Mumford & Sons
May 17 – Santa Clara, CA @ Levi’s Stadium w/ Mumford & Sons
May 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Rose Bowl w/ The Lumineers
May 24 – Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium w/ The Lumineers
May 26 – Dallas, TX @ AT&T Stadium w/ The Lumineers
June 3 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field w/ The Lumineers
June 7 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz Field w/ The Lumineers
June 8-11 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Festival
June 11 – Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium w/ OneRepublic
June 14 – Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium w/ OneRepublic
June 18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field w/ The Lumineers
June 20 – Washington DC @ FedExField w/ The Lumineers
June 23 – Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre w/ The Lumineers
June 25 – Boston, MA @ Gillette Stadium w/ The Lumineers
June 28 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium w/ The Lumineers
July 1 – Cleveland, OH @ FirstEnergy Stadium w/ OneRepublic