U2made a big announcement atSuper Bowl 2023.
The band will open the new venue, MSG Sphere, with its first live performance in four years.
Along with the reveal, U2 had a bit of sad news: Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. will not be joining the band, as he’s needing time off to undergo and recuperate from surgery.
For the shows at the all-new space, drummer Bram van den Berg will join frontmanBono, guitarist The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton on stage.
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“It’s going to take all we’ve got to approach the Sphere without our bandmate in the drum seat, but Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg who is a force in his own right,” Mullen Jr.’s bandmates said in a statement.
“Bottom line, U2 hasn’t played live since December 2019 and we need to get back on stage and see the faces of our fans again,” the band added.
The band added that their new residency “is more than just a venue, it’s a gallery, and U2’s music is going to be all over the walls.”
“In short, it’s a canvas of an unparalleled scale and image resolution, and a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” The Edge noted in a statement.
“We all thought about it and decided we’d be mad not to accept the invitation,” the guitarist added of U2’s upcoming shows to open the venue.
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MSG Sphere at the Venetian holds 17,500 seats and features a scalable capacity up to 20,000 guests. The venue features a new 16K screen that “wraps up, around, and behind the audience,” per a release. More information about the venue is availablehere, and the full trailer is available to viewhere.
source: people.com
