Bono and The Edge: Tiny Desk Concert
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Published 2023-03-17
It's hard to overstate the kindness and good-natured humor Bono and The Edge brought to the Tiny Desk. When they first arrived at the NPR Music offices, Bono spoke on an imaginary phone, "The talent's here! The talent's coming through," poking fun at their own fame, while carrying The Edge's guitar. (The Edge called Bono the best roadie he's ever had.) The two never stopped beaming, like two overjoyed newcomers thrilled at the chance to play for someone.
The performance was a preview of U2's new album, Songs Of Surrender, featuring stripped-down versions of songs from across the band's catalog. To help pull off several reimagined songs from the 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, Bono and The Edge invited a teen choir from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., to join them. During rehearsals, Bono told the students to think of "Beautiful Day" as the kind of "post-drinking" singalong you'd bellow with friends after leaving a bar. He then quickly realized none of them are old enough to drink, before feigning a heart attack.
Traveling without bassist Adam Clayton or drummer Larry Mullen Jr., Bono and The Edge made the trip from Ireland to the States specifically for the Tiny Desk, arriving in D.C. after five days of rehearsals at Bono's New York apartment. When they settled in for the performance, they treated the office to four songs, including a deeply emotional version of "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," written for the late INXS singer Michael Hutchence, and a reworked version of "Walk On," which Bono said was inspired by and dedicated to the people of Ukraine.
SET LIST
"Beautiful Day"
"In a Little While"
"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"
"Walk On"
MUSICIANS
Bono: vocals
The Edge: guitar, vocals
Duke Ellington School of the Arts Choir: Petra Munter, Ayan Yacob, Kirsten Holmes, Jayla Norwood, Dyor Taylor, Jaylyn Pickney, Jevon Skipper, Joshua Jennings, Jordan Freeman
Patrick Lundy: choir director
Special thanks to: Sandi Logan (principal/HOS), Isaac Daniel (assistant principal)
TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bob Boilen
Director: Joshua Bryant
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Editor: Maia Stern
Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Sofia Seidel, Michael Zamora
Audio Assistant: Alex Drewenskus
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Pilar Galván
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
#nprmusic #tinydesk #u2 #bono #theedge
All Comments (21)
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These guys should start a band
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Never realized how solid Edge's backing vocals were
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I am a 51 year old irishman. I have followed u2 since 1982 when I was 10 years old. Their music is essentially the soundtrack of my life. While its a little sad to see them age I just feel so grateful for the countless memories and uplifting messaging for decades.Thank so much boys.
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These guys PACK stadiums world wide…..and have for years. They could easily sit back with huge egos and count royalty money forever. Yet they show up as gracious and gentle performers thanking and shaking hands!! I wish they would do some children songs now so I could play them to my newborn granddaughter!! When she is old enough……she will enjoy U2 with her Nono on a quiet porch one day!! Thank you NPR from Canada!!
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It's nice of NPR to give these kinds of smaller indie artists a big platform like Tiny Desk Concerts.
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"Laughter is the evidence of freedom." I will commit this line to memory.
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Stuck In A Moment is an absolute masterpiece.
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Such an organic, unselfish, and transparent performance. True brilliance.. Really impressed with Bono's voice, after all these years, very touching..
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Edge is such a MONSTER performer always at the edge of the limelight but he really deserves an award for his decades of excellence.
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The choir was such a nice touch. Thank you Tiny Desk, Duke Ellington School, and U2.
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This is why U2 is great - Bono and Edge doing exactly what they did by exhibiting grace and respect for those young adults and everyone else in the room! Those young adults will never forget being part of this personal concert. I bet those young adults went home and believed they have a chance to be as inspirational as Bono and Edge! Gentlemen - well done! Thank you for your music. It kept me and my friends awake on a 15 hour drive from Houston to Red River New Mexico for a ski trip! We were rocking round trip!
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the interaction between bono and edge is magic. fantastic performance !
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I love that when Bono sings you always feel like you're being told a story. It doesn't just feel like simple singing.
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Really impressed with Bono's voice, after all these years, very touching.
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In a Little While is such an underrated song!!! I LOVE it!!!!
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Seen the lads 3 times, worked 2 of their shows, once as security, once as staging. They are among the kindest, most generous of acts I have had the privilege of working for.:)
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My wife and I saw them last week in the Las Vegas Sphere… Mind blowing and powerful! Now, today, I just discovered this… Small, intimate, but just as powerful! We're pushing 60 years old and it's been a joy to have them as part of the soundtrack of our lives!
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Watch the happy faces of the girls in the choir. They will tell their grandchildren about this exceptionally beautiful day.
