U2 are marking 50 years together with the release of their 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz, alongside plans for an ambitious new world tour that will take the Irish rock legends back to stadiums across the globe in 2027.
Released on 13 November via Island Records, the 12-track project marks the band's first album of entirely new material since 2017's Songs of Experience. Produced by longtime collaborator Jacknife Lee, the record brings together Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. for a collection exploring spirituality, friendship, freedom, love, and perseverance in an increasingly uncertain world.
The album arrives during a milestone year for U2, who celebrated their 50th anniversary in September, five decades after Mullen posted an advertisement seeking musicians at Dublin's Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976.
Musically, Carnaval De Luz draws on the band's experimental history while incorporating an eclectic range of influences, from guitar-driven rock and electronic textures to gospel, disco, and punk. Its central themes revolve around finding light in difficult times, balancing reflections on the state of the world with more personal explorations of relationships, faith, and human connection.
Opening track ‘Go (Carnaval De Luz)’ introduces those ideas through electronically treated guitars, driving rhythms, and synthesiser arrangements contributed by Brian Eno. Meanwhile, ‘La Reina’ combines muscular rock riffs with a more hymn-like arrangement, exploring the extraordinary within everyday experiences.
The previously released ‘Street of Dreams’ revisits U2's expansive, guitar-driven sound, while ‘The Mirror Maker (Rosalía)’ pays tribute to Spanish singer Rosalía, drawing parallels between artistic expression and spiritual devotion.
Elsewhere, ‘Superficiality’ brings disco-influenced grooves into the mix, exploring the freedom found in personal relationships, while ‘If the World Is at War We Better Not Be’ reflects on the band's beginnings and the importance of protecting human connections amid conflict.
The latter also revisits U2's formative years in Dublin, connecting memories of their early friendship with broader questions about faith, peace, and the value of ordinary lives.
The album's second single, ‘Silencio’, takes a different direction with a short, energetic burst of surf-punk-inspired rock. Running for just over two and a half minutes, the track draws on the rebellious spirit of the genre, with additional production from Ryan Tedder.
Another highlight is ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’, co-written with Eno, which examines love, faith, and the intersection between performance and spirituality. Its accompanying music video, directed by longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn and filmed in the Californian desert, presents a satirical depiction of the band as a religious cult, with women performing much of the work behind the spectacle.
The track also shares its name with U2's forthcoming stadium tour, connecting the album's ideas about faith, entertainment, and human connection with the theatrical ambitions of their live performances.
Elsewhere, ‘Glorify’, co-written with Dutch DJ and producer Martin Garrix, incorporates gospel influences into its exploration of love and devotion. ‘Midnight Sunshine’ pairs a melodic pop arrangement with reflections on living in an anxious world, while ‘Can't Stop Us Now’ returns to an expansive rock sound and themes of collective strength and resilience.
The record closes with ‘Torn’, an emotional country-influenced duet between Bono and the late Dolly Parton, featuring what would become the country music legend's final recorded vocal performance.
Co-written by U2, Parton, and Johnny McDaid, the song explores fractured family relationships, separation, and reconciliation, with longtime U2 collaborator Daniel Lanois contributing pedal steel guitar. The track serves as a more intimate conclusion to an album otherwise built around themes of celebration, hope, and endurance.
Carnaval De Luz also shares a creative connection with U2's two surprise EPs released earlier this year, Days of Ash and Easter Lily. Recorded during the same period, the three projects follow a symbolic progression inspired by the Christian calendar.
While Days of Ash addressed contemporary political and social struggles, Easter Lily explored friendship, loss, and renewal through a more personal lens. Carnaval De Luz, whose title translates to "Carnival of Light", represents the celebratory moment preceding the introspection of Lent and the renewal associated with Easter.
Together, the three releases mark an unusually prolific year for U2, with the band putting out 24 new songs as they celebrate half a century of music-making.
Beyond the album, U2 are preparing to return to stadiums with Carnaval De Luz Presents: The Greatest Show On Earth World Tour, their first stadium tour since wrapping up The Joshua Tree Tour in Mumbai in December 2019.
The upcoming trek will also reunite the complete lineup on a major international tour, following Mullen's absence from the band's 40-show residency at Sphere in Las Vegas while recovering from surgery.
Produced by Live Nation Global Touring, the tour will begin in Mexico City on 23 February 2027, before travelling to São Paulo and Buenos Aires, with Beck joining as the supporting act for the Latin American concerts. Strong demand has already prompted the addition of further dates across all three cities.
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The European leg will begin in Stockholm on 26 April, with Wolf Alice supporting the band. Further confirmed stops include Paris, Barcelona, Seville, Lisbon, Amsterdam, London, Berlin, and Milan, with multiple performances scheduled in several cities.
The tour has expanded to 37 announced concerts across Latin America and Europe, while plans for North American dates and a further leg extending into 2028 remain in development. The band have also expressed their intention to conclude the tour in their native Ireland.
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U2 have begun revealing details of the production, which promises to build on their history of elaborate stage designs, from the multimedia spectacle of the Zoo TV Tour to their technologically ambitious Sphere residency.
Early renderings unveiled during an iHeartRadio interview depict a theatrical stage dominated by enormous red curtains, with walkways extending into the audience and oversized representations of the sun and moon positioned above the performance space.
Additional concepts feature suspended rows of illuminated bulbs and a circular lighting installation surrounding the audience, while reversed signage bearing the Carnaval De Luz name is designed to create the impression of bringing concertgoers backstage.
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Bono described the production as a playful exploration of the relationship between showbusiness and shamanism, with the band aiming to blur the boundaries between performer and audience through a combination of theatrical imagery, technology, and live music.
The tour is expected to feature songs spanning U2's extensive catalogue alongside new material from Carnaval De Luz, continuing the band's longstanding pursuit of making large-scale concerts feel both spectacular and intimate.
For fans in Asia, no concerts in the region have been announced so far. U2 last visited the region during their 2019 The Joshua Tree Tour, which included their first-ever performances in Singapore, Manila, Seoul, and Mumbai.
As the band enter their sixth decade, Carnaval De Luz and The Greatest Show On Earth World Tour represent the next phase of their creative journey, bringing together new material, longstanding musical partnerships, and an expansive vision for their return to the world's biggest stages.
Carnaval De Luz is available now in digital and physical formats, including limited-edition vinyl and deluxe box sets. Fans can find the album and full tour schedule through U2's official website and tour page.
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