The Edge during a U2 concert in East Rutherford, New Jesey, 2017.
Photo: FilmMagic, Taylor Hill. All rights reserved.
In autumn 2023 fans of U2 can look forward to a spectacle: The Irish rock band will open the MSG Sphere with a show series called “U2: UV Warning Baby Live at Sphere” – a new concert hall in Las Vegas, the construction of which will cost around two billion US dollars. cost dollars. The event hall is not only the first spherical in the world, but will also offer space for up to 17,000 people and have the largest 16K LED screen of all time. Now “Variety” has published a reportin which the first five shows were officially announced and U2 guitarist The Edge spoke for the first time about the concert series at the Sphere.
The first five announced concert evenings will take place on September 29th and 30th and October 5th, 7th and 8th, 2023. However, there is a possibility that more shows will be added. The title of the series “U2: UV Warning Baby Live at Sphere” refers both to the U2 album “Achtung Baby” (1991), around which the concerts are supposed to revolve, and to the track “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”. ‘ from the same album. Ticket prices start at $140, and Live Nation has promised that 60 percent of all available tickets will cost less than $300.
When asked if the Las Vegas show series could also be considered a “residency” — that is, a series of concerts, similar to a concert tour but in only one location — The Edge replied, “I mean, it’s certainly a series of shows, but it’s not like we have to move to Vegas for a year. Due to the size of the venue, the scope of this series will likely be a maximum of six weeks. And we couldn’t realistically do more shows than that. So I don’t think it’s really a classic residency.”
However, regarding the stigma attached to residencies in Las Vegas, the 61-year-old guitarist said, “You know, this place, as much as we’re fascinated with Vegas, and some of our favorite artists, I’m thinking of Frank Sinatra, Elvis, but also Hunter S. Thompson and the fact that it’s a place of hopes that are sometimes met but more often than not. It’s symbolic of so much about America, we’ve always found it fascinating.”