U2 have returned in full force to their Christian roots with another surprise EP - Easter Lily, dropping on Good Friday 2026. The six-track EP features the familiar guitar delays from The Edge, Larry's propulsive drumming, thick Adam Clayton basslines, and even a minimalist Brian Eno soundscape overlayed with Bono's singing and spoken word. There are echos of U2 of yore, from the droplets of October, to the particulates of Zooropa, to the fallout of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

"Easter Lily" comes just 43 days after the band's "Days of Ash" EP, marking a "feast" of new music and a record for most releases by U2 in such a short time frame. Unlike "Days of Ash," these songs are more personal and introspective, with spiritually-charged lyrics about hope, grief, friendship, and rebirth. The title of this EP acknowledges Patti Smith's 1978 album "Easter," while producer Hal Willner, who would have turned 70 years old on Easter Monday, is honored with "Song for Hal." The Irish connection to the Easter lily flower commemorates the fallen combatants from the 1916 Rising for a united Ireland, as well as the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Accompanying the new EP is a 52-page, jam-packed, special Propaganda E-zine (Volume 3, Issue 2) featuring lyrics of all the new songs, along with all four band members contributing thoughts of their own. Also included, as stated on U2.com, are sleeve notes from The Edge; Adam Clayton on art and the journey of recovery; a conversation between Bono and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr; and in-the-studio photographs shot by Larry Mullen Jr. Furthermore, producer Jacknife Lee is interviewed and Gavin Friday shares his own piece on Hal Willner, who was a longtime collaborator and friend of his.

Photograph: Ross Stewart

Opening Act(s): Pauli "The PSM" Lovejoy

Setlist:

1. Zoo Station
2. Drive My Car - The Fly
3. Even Better Than the Real Thing
4. Mysterious Ways - My Sweet Lord - I Feel Love
5. One - Invisible
6. Love Me Tender - Until the End of the World - Sympathy for the Devil - Paint It Black
7. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
8. Landlady - Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World
9. All I Want Is You - Yellow
10. Desire - Not Fade Away
11. Angel of Harlem
12. Don't Dream It's Over
13. Acrobat
14. So Cruel
15. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
16. Love Is Blindness - Viva Las Vegas
Encore(s):
17. Elevation - My Way
18. Atomic City
19. Vertigo - She Loves You
20. Moment of Surrender - Where the Streets Have No Name
21. With or Without You
22. Beautiful Day - Gloria - Blackbird
23. "40"

Remarks:

U2 performs the fortieth of forty shows at the Sphere at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. Attendance is 18,600; a sellout. Tickets range from $140 to $500 (for presale ticket prices) but many sell at resale prices of $400 to $1,450. The opening music act is Pauli "The PSM" Lovejoy, who is the official Atomic MC / DJ host of the UV Dance Party opening each U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere concert.

The very final concert of U2's epic 40 date run at Las Vegas's Sphere concludes this evening with a jam-packed show of special guest performances. Longtime U2 collaborator and producer Daniel Lanois joins the band on the stage with his guitar for "One." Toward the end of the song, Lanois leans into Bono on the microphone and sings briefly, and moments later Bono snippets a bit of "Invisible" ("No them, there's only us."). Bono: "There would be no Achtung Baby without Daniel Lanois."

Later in the show, Neil Finn from Crowded House performs "Don't Dream It's Over" in a specially pre-recorded audio track with Bono and The Edge performing along. The vocal track was sent in by Neil himself from Auckland, NZ in an email the night before. The song is dedicated Alexei Navalny's widow Yulia with Bono saying: "The idea is to record something special to honor Alexei Navalny's widow Yulia who's continuing a fight against Vladimir Putin for a free, free Russia. That's what we want for the Russian people."

Closing the concert, U2 perform "40," their old War song. Rehearsed at the soundcheck earlier in the day, the song makes its live debut at the Sphere and marking the first time it's been performed since 2016. As the song concludes, the band members leave the stage one by one. Bram van den Berg, filling in for Larry Mullen Jr. as he continues to heal from surgeries, is seen exiting the stage as The Edge pumps his fists to the crowd. Bono introduces the song with the following words: "Let it scream 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. What's a fella with a Messianic complex gonna do? This is a song we wrote in 40 minutes. There'd be 40 minutes on the War album left to record. I opened the sacred text on the Psalm of David. Just gonna write it out, that was the lyric. This is 40."

Witnessing this 40th show at the Sphere are a slew of celebrities including the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin (whom Bono wishes happy birthday and snippets "Yellow" during the concert), E-Street band member Nils Lofgren, and U2 producers Daniel Lanois (as mentioned earlier) and Ryan Tedder. Additionally, several actors and actresses are in attendance including Elizabeth Jagger (who turned 40 years old on this night), Brett Ratner, Pierce Brosnan, Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta Jones. Last but not least, First Lady Jill Biden is in the house tonight with Bono dedicating "All I Want Is You" to her. After the show ends, U2 fans stream out of the monolithic venue as Brian Eno's "Sky Saw" plays over the PA.