Pretty soon, the founder and drummer of U2, Larry Mullen Jr., will be back in full swing as Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton embark on their next tour.
This marks the first time since 2019 that Mullen toured with the group, as he sat out of U2's 40-night Sphere residency (Bram Van Den Berg admirably filled in for him). Speaking to Rolling Stone for its latest cover story, Bono revealed that he is praying that the group “are all well.” Adding, “And that Larry, of all of us, keeps hold of his fitness.”
During the Rolling Stone story, Mullen talked about getting surgery on his neck. He risked being paralyzed by it, and he “overwrote” his family's wishes for him to retire. He wanted to be back with the band after sitting out of their residency.
U2 just announced their 16th album, Carnaval De Luz. It will be released on Nov. 13, 2026, marking the group's first album of new material since 2017's Songs of Experience (they released Songs of Surrender, a collection of 40 re-recorded songs, in 2023).
Article Continues BelowThe album has been preceded by two singles. The first, “Street of Dreams,” was released on July 7, 2026. “Silencio” came out on the same day as the album announcement on Sep. 24, a day before the band's 50th anniversary.
In honor of their 50th anniversary, U2 returned to Dublin, Ireland, to perform two special shows. The first was at Mount Temple, where the members of the band went to school, and the second was on Grafton Street.
It has been a busy year for U2 fans. The band shocked everyone by releasing an EP, Days of Ash, on Feb. 18. Not even two months later, they dropped another EP, Easter Lily, on Apr. 3. They will close out the year with a full-length album, and presumably, a tour will follow.
U2's last tour was the 2019 leg of the Joshua Tree anniversary tour. They visited Oceania and Asia in 2019 after previously visiting North America, South America, and Europe during the original 2017 tour. The Mullen-less Sphere residency ran from Sep. 29, 2023, to Mar. 2, 2024.