U2 | Kennedy Center Honors

The 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors
The Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington, DC
December 4, 2022
00:00 Video montage* (U2's biography)
02:40 Introduction (hosted by Sean Pean)
05:00 Elevation (Eddie Vedder)
07:47 Stand-up comedy by Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen)
13:53 One (Eddie Vedder)
18:00 Walk On (Brandi Carlile, Jamala & Hozier with All-Stars)
*with special starring Beyoncé Knowles, Harry Styles, Finneas O'Connell & Billie Eilish
PERSONNEL
Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) - lead vocals
Brandi Carlile - lead vocals
Jamala - lead vocals
Hozier - lead vocals
Rickey Minor - bass guitar, musical director
U2 are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976. The group consists of Bono (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), the Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). Initially rooted in post-punk, U2's musical style has evolved throughout their career, yet has maintained an anthemic quality built on Bono's expressive vocals and the Edge's chiming, effects-based guitar sounds. Bono's lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal and sociopolitical themes. Popular for their live performances, the group have staged several elaborate tours over their career.
The band was formed when the members were teenaged pupils of Mount Temple Comprehensive School and had limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album, Boy (1980). Works such as their first UK number-one album, War (1983), and singles "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" helped establish U2's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group. Their fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire (1984), was their first collaboration with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, whose influence resulted in a more abstract, ambient sound for the band. U2 had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. Their fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international stars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. One of the world's best-selling albums with 25 million copies sold, it produced the group's only number-one singles in the US to date: "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".
Facing creative stagnation and a backlash to their documentary and double album Rattle and Hum (1988), U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s. Beginning with their acclaimed seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991), and the multimedia spectacle of the Zoo TV Tour, the band pursued a new musical direction influenced by alternative rock, electronic dance music, and industrial music, and they embraced a more ironic, flippant image. This experimentation continued on Zooropa (1993) and concluded with Pop (1997) and the PopMart Tour, which were mixed successes. U2 regained critical and commercial favour with the records All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), returning to a more conventional, mainstream sound. Although their twelfth album, No Line on the Horizon (2009), did not meet commercial expectations, the supporting U2 360° Tour set records for the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour, both of which stood until 2019. In the 2010s, U2 released two companion albums: Songs of Innocence (2014), which received criticism for its pervasive, no-cost release through the iTunes Store and Songs of Experience (2017).
In 2023, U2 released Songs of Surrender, an album of re-recorded songs, and began the U2:UV Achtung Baby Live concert residency to inaugurate Sphere in Las Vegas Valley.
U2 are one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold an estimated 150-170 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and social justice causes, working with organizations and coalitions that include Amnesty International, The ONE Campaign or Product Red.
The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.
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[@bluemonday70-bl5ne]

Best moment is Eddie Vedder's expression after he sings "One" and looks up at U2. His eyes are luminous and you can genuinely see the gratitude on his face and just how much the band means to him.

[@VinylSpotlight77]

Sad out of all their songs, they choose elevation, which is a tired song live. I love u2 but elevation has taken its course. They have a huge catalog and elevation isnt their best

[@jukeboxheroesgoldexperience]

SETLIST
00:00 Video montage (U2's biography)
02:40 Introduction (hosted by Sean Pean)
05:00 Elevation (Eddie Vedder)
07:47 Stand-up comedy by Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen)
13:53 One (Eddie Vedder)
18:00 Walk On (Brandi Carlile, Jamala & Hozier with All-Stars)