U2 announce new album, Philly show next June
At long last, U2 will finally release the second of a two-themed set of albums, “Songs of Experience,” coming Dec. 1. It follows on the heels of ‘Songs of Innocence,’ which came out in Sept. 2014.
The Irish rockers will also be returning to the States to tour the record, and will be hitting the region for the second time in a year, playing the Wells Fargo Center June 13.
“Songs of Experience,” will technically be the 14th studio album from U2, which was initially slated to come out shortly after “Songs of Innocence,” but the changing political climate of both the Brexit situation in the UK and the Trump presidency here in America changed the whole agenda as the band reconsidered the more light-hearted direction for something which would better reflect the current state of affairs.
The North American tour kicks off next May and will be an arena run. Fans will recall the group last came to Philly in June of this year to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their landmark effort “The Joshua Tree,” playing the record in full at the Linc.
Just as “Songs of Experience” serves as a companion piece to “Songs of Innocence,” the eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE tour will serve as a sequel to 2015’s iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE tour which saw U2 basically reinvent the arena show, one which skipped Philadelphia altogether. The gigs featured a catwalk which extended far out into the crowd across the arena floor, a massive walkway which at points would feature an immersive enclave projecting video and images as the band traversed to the second stage.
Pre-orders of “Songs of Experience” are available now and across all digital platforms and will include three instant grat songs. The first is the previously unreleased “Get Out of Your Own Way,” first single “You’re the Best Thing About Me” which same out in September, and the album version of “The Blackout,” previously released as a performance video in August. All three songs are available now to stream across all platforms. Fans who pre-order the deluxe version of the album will also receive the remix of “You’re the Best Thing About Me” by Norwegian DJ Kygo.
In addition to unveiling album artwork by Anton Corbijn, U2 has revealed the final tracklist of “Songs of Experience,” saying it was completed earlier this year. The lyrical approach of the album was greatly inspired by Irish poet, novelist and Trinity College, Dublin Professor Emeritus Brendan Kennelly’s advice to Bono to “write as if you’re dead,” resulting in a collection of songs in the form of intimate letters to places and people close to the singer’s heart, meaning family, friends, fans, himself.
Tickets for the eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE North American tour 2018 don’t go on sale until Nov. 20. In keeping with their commitment to ensure tickets get into the hands of fans, not scalpers or bots, U2 has partnered with Ticketmaster to use its Verified Fan platform. Verified Fan will power all ticket sales, providing fans who truly want to attend the show with the best opportunity to get the best seats.
U2.com fan club subscribers receive first access and can register now until Nov. 12. Fan club subscribers will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets beginning Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. and running through Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.
Citi cardmembers can take advantage of a special, first-ever Citi Presale powered by Verified Fan opportunity for tour dates in the United States. Citi cardmembers can register now through Nov. 14 to unlock access to tickets and use their Citi card to complete the ticket purchase if verified. The Citi presale begins Nov. 16 at 9 a.m. and will continue through Nov 18 at 5 p.m. To register for the Citi Presale powered by Verified Fan, fans can go to citiprivatepass.com
Tickets will also be available for the Verified Fan public sale that begins on Monday, Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. All fans must register by Saturday, Nov. 18 for the opportunity to unlock access to tickets. To begin, visit u2.tmverifiedfan.com.
To contact music columnist Michael Christopher, send an email to rockmusicmenu@gmail.com. Also, check out his blog at www.thechroniclesofmc.com