U2: watch Bono and The Edge's performance at the Woody Guthrie Prize

The U2 have released a live acoustic performance recorded for the Woody Guthrie Prize, the annual award promoted by the Woody Guthrie Center. The prize is given to an artist who embodies the spirit of the legendary American folk icon, celebrated as a "champion of the voiceless" and as an example of how music can become a tool for civic awareness and social change.

Here's the video of the performance.

The band was honored last October at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During the ceremony, Bono and The Edge delivered a stripped-back, intense performance, playing acoustic versions of "One", "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Running To Stand Still", alongside a rendition of Woody Guthrie's "Jesus Christ". The setlist also included "Mothers Of The Disappeared" and "Pride (In The Name Of Love)", underscoring the connection between U2's repertoire and a musical tradition deeply rooted in political and social commitment.

Below is the full setlist from the show

• Running To Stand Still (with a snippet of “Bound For Glory”)
• This Train Is Bound For Glory (Sister Rosetta Tharpe / Woody Guthrie cover)
• Mothers Of The Disappeared
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• One
• Pride (In The Name Of Love) (with a snippet of “Jesus Christ”)
• Jesus Christ (Woody Guthrie cover)
• Yahweh
• One Life At A Time

Speaking of live performances by U2 members, during Busk, the Christmas Eve charity event that fills the streets of Dublin with live music every year, Bono once again performed one of his favorite Christmas classics, "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)". The U2 frontman made a surprise appearance alongside Imelda May, in front of a crowd of buskers and passersby gathered in the center of the Irish capital.

Introduced on stage as Mr. Bono, the frontman adapted parts of the lyrics to reflect the charitable spirit of the evening and directly involve the crowd, inviting them to join in the singing. An informal, communal moment, perfectly in keeping with the atmosphere of the Busk, which for fifteen years has been one of the most beloved events of the Christmas season in Dublin.

Watch the videos of Bono's performance with Imelda May below.

“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is a Christmas song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, originally recorded in 1963 by Darlene Love. The track was included on the compilation “A Christmas Gift For You From Philles Records” (also known as “A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector”).

Over the years the song has become one of the musical symbols of Christmas, helped in no small part by the version recorded by U2 in 1987 for the charity compilation “A Very Special Christmas”. The band has revisited it many times since, most recently during their 2023 residency at the Las Vegas Sphere.

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