Bono Discuses Where U2 Fits in Music Today
Bono and The Edge of U2 were honored last October in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when U2 received the Woody Guthrie Prize, handed out by the Woody Guthrie Center. The event took…
Bono and The Edge of U2 were honored last October in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when U2 received the Woody Guthrie Prize, handed out by the Woody Guthrie Center. The event took place at Cain's Ballroom, one of the venues U2 headlined in 1981 on their famed Boy tour. Now, the band is sharing some special moments from that event as 2026 kicks in.
Now on YouTube, audio of the chat Bono and The Edge had with T Bone Burnett about art, activism and their acoustic performance from the event is streaming. The performance features iconic songs such songs as "Running to Stand Still," "Sunday Bloody Sunday" "One," "Pride (In The Name of Love) and "Yahweh."
The Woody Guthrie Prize honors "a recipient who embodies the spirit of Woody Guthrie’s social consciousness and musical legacy." U2 follows a bevy of previous winners, including Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Joan Baez and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello.
Bono Talks U2's Modern Music
Outlet The Talks caught up with Bono in June of 2025, and he opened up about where he thinks the band's music fits right now. In the chat, he says that he always thoughts of U2 as "slipstream" instead of "mainstream." From their hits to underground songs, the band always had a unique niche.
"Even if you think about our biggest songs, they have very, very unusual constructions, so they're not exactly mainstream," Bono said, adding that "the problem now is trying to get into any stream."
He continued, saying that "there used to be a sea, there used to be rivers, now it's just an abundance of streams," adding that "the chord changes and the aggressive guitar and the drums we use, people who are attracted those sounds, they now find them, and they don’t care what generation they came out of."
Bono also said that he hopes people will find U2 and hold onto their music.
