Today, on U2's 50th anniversary, the band performed all around the city of Dublin.
To kick things off around 2:00pm, U2, all dressed in various shades of black, performed a surprise 35 minute concert outside Mount Temple Comprehensive School. U2 had first performed there on October 9, 1976. In the famous photographs showing U2 playing on the concrete roof of the boiler room outside the gymnasium, it was actually the sixth show at the school in June of 1978, when U2 had performed on "Open Day," as school kids were let out for the end of the school year.
Shortly after U2 mounted the same platform the band had first stepped on all of those decades ago, Bono shouted: "We've escaped from the lab! How's the experiment working for you?" Close to a thousand people watched, including faculty members, students, administrators, news agencies, and invited guests.
Mt. Temple Setlist:
Opening music: School's Out (Alice Cooper)
1. I Will Follow
2. Vertigo
3. Beautiful Day, One Day Like This (snippet)
4. Out of Control
5. Silencio, Twist and Shout (snippet)
6. One (featuring students from Music Generation)
7. With or Without You
The concert featured 32 string musicians from Music Generation as well. Each musician represented a county in Ireland as they performed "One" with U2. "Silencio" made its live debut as the second single from U2's forthcoming album Carnaval De Luz. As the band concluded the set with "With or Without You," Bono said: "Thanks for showing up. I suppose you'd nowhere else to go."
Read more about this special show here: https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2026/0925/1593002-u2-reflect-on-extraordinary-mount-temple-return/
And watch this interview of U2 back on the school grounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng7LpIxbrVw
Later on at Twenty Two Nightclub, formerly called McGonagles, journalists and reporters attended a private listening party featuring a sneak preview of the upcoming album. The historic venue had been U2's home away from home where the band had performed 27 times throughout their early years. Twenty Two was rebranded as "McGonagles" for the live show, receiving a full makeover complete with U2 memorabilia. U2 themselves were not in attendance however.
McGonagles Playlist:
1. Torn
2. Silencio
3. Can't Stop Us Now
4. The Greatest Show on Earth
Finally in the evening, U2 performed an 11-song set on Grafton Street in front of thousands of U2 fans. Standing on the balcony on top of Bewley's Oriental Café, a packed crowd gathered below on Friday evening as Dublin's most famous band thrilled onlookers.
Grafton Street Setlist:
1. I Will Follow, Waiting on a Friend (snippet)
2. Out of Control, I Wanna Be Sedated (snippet), It's My Party (snippet)
3. One, Purple Rain (snippet)
4. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Molly Malone (snippet)
5. With or Without You
6. Silencio, Twist and Shout (snippet), Let's Dance (snippet)
7. All I Want Is You
8. Falling Slowly (sung by The Edge)
9. Beautiful Day, One Day Like This (snippet)
10. Vertigo
Encore: "40"
Glen Hansard was honored during the concert as Bono called him the "King Busker" and the "King of Grafton Street" as the band lead into "All I Want Is You." The concert concluded with "40" as an encore, after fans shouted "how long to sing this song?" The Edge played the bass while Adam Clayton picked up the electric guitar. The gig ended soon thereafter just before 8:00pm.
More video clips and photos of the Mt. Temple and Grafton street gigs can be checked out here as well: https://www.nme.com/news/music/u2-dublin-high-school-mount-temple-grafton-street-50-year-surprise-gigs-footage-photos-3970863
Watch most of the show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3E-SsB2ylc&t
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