The Joshua Tree Tours 2017 and 2019

The tour's itinerary included a performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in June 2017.

The tour was announced on 9 January 2017,[12] initially consisting of a North American leg from May to July and a European leg from July to August. It was the first time the group toured in promotion of an album from their back catalogue, rather than a new release.[13] Kyle McGovern of Pitchfork interpreted the tour announcement to be an admission by U2 that they were entering the "nostalgia act" phase of their career. He said, "this tour announcement feels like it's coming from a U2 that's ready to put their work behind glass, as so many of their peers did far earlier... And there's no shame in that..."[14] Pre-sale tickets were first offered to U2.com subscribers starting on 11 January before going on sale to the general public on 16 January (for European shows) and 17 January (for North American shows).[15][16] Approximately 1.1 million tickets were sold in the first 24 hours of being on sale. After tickets for the tour sold out quickly, second shows were added in London, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, East Rutherford, Pasadena, and Chicago.[17] As part of the tour's itinerary, U2 headlined the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, in June.[18]

U2 performing in Kansas City in September 2017, one of several North American dates that was added due to the success of the tour.

Additional dates for the tour were announced on 6 June 2017, halfway through the opening leg; a second North American leg was added to the itinerary for September 2017, initially consisting of seven dates, while a Latin American leg initially consisting of five dates was added for October. Tickets for these legs were offered to U2.com subscribers in a pre-sale starting 8 June, while public sales began on 12 June for North America and 14 June for Latin America.[19] In the weeks after the tour's extension was announced, the band added a show in New Orleans scheduled for 14 September,[20] a show in Glendale scheduled for 19 September,[21] and extra shows in Mexico City, La Plata, and São Paulo.[22][23][24][25][26] Tour production director Jake Berry said the second North American leg was not originally planned and that the group were scheduled to have a two-month break between the European leg and the Latin American leg. However, since the tour was a "success... beyond everybody's wildest dreams", the group added North American dates in September and shortened their break to four weeks.[27]

In North America and Europe, the tour used a "paperless ticket" system requiring concert attendees to present the credit card they used to purchase tickets as well as a photo ID upon entry at the venue. The measures were meant to combat ticket resellers. However, on the tour's opening night in Vancouver on 12 May 2017, attendees faced long queues to enter BC Place; some fans missed the performance of opening act Mumford & Sons.[28][29] Live Nation officials blamed the delays on a mix-up regarding which gates at the stadium would accept paperless tickets.[28] To recompense affected concertgoers, Ticketmaster offered $50 gift cards for use against future events, while BC Place offered free attendance to a Vancouver Whitecaps FC or BC Lions sporting event with a $20 food/beverage voucher.[30]

According to Music Generation, an Irish music education programme for children, some of U2's earnings from the tour benefited the programme, allowing it to expand to nine new areas in the country within five years.[31] The band also donated a portion of its Mexico City earnings to a relief fund benefiting victims of the 2017 Central Mexico earthquake.[32]

In the wake of terrorist attacks across Europe, Ireland's police force deployed its Armed Support Units to act as "terrorist spotters" at U2's show in Dublin.[33]

Due to safety concerns caused by the 2017 St. Louis protests, the tour's 16 September show in St. Louis was canceled earlier that day.[34] In a joint statement, U2 and Live Nation said, "We have been informed by the St. Louis Police Department that they are not in a position to provide the standard protection for our audience as would be expected for an event of this size."[35]

U2 performing in Sydney in November 2019. The leg of the tour was the band's first visit to Australia since 2010.

On 31 May 2019, U2 announced an extension to the tour with an Oceanian and Asian leg later in the year. It commenced with concerts in Australia and New Zealand in November, the band's first time performing in either country since the 360° Tour in 2010. From late November through December, the tour travelled to Asia. The group's initial announcement confirmed their first ever performances in South Korea and Singapore, and included nine concert dates;[36][37] the date and venue for their visit to Singapore were not finalised until 14 June, when it was announced U2 would perform on 30 November at the National Stadium.[38] After tickets for the Sydney, Auckland, and Singapore shows went on sale, second concerts were announced for each city due to high demand.[39][40][41]

On 30 July, the band announced the addition of a 11 December concert in the Philippines, their first ever show in the country. Ticket pre-sales for that concert were available to U2.com subscribers from 1–3 September and Smart Communications subscribers on 4 September, before general public sales began on 5 September through SM Tickets.[42]

On 18 September, U2 announced the addition of a 15 December concert in Mumbai to conclude the tour, marking their first ever show in India.[43] Ticket pre-sales for that concert were available to U2.com subscribers from 24 to 25 September and PhonePe subscribers from 26 to 29 September, before general public sales began on 1 October. Tickets were offered for purchase by BookMyShow, which partnered with Live Nation Global Touring to bring the band to India.[44] Billboard said that securing a U2 concert in India was a signifier of the country's growing appeal as a touring destination for high-profile Western acts. U2 had long wanted to perform in India but were never able to due to "logistical and infrastructure challenges" and prohibitive production costs. According to Billboard, top international acts usually only performed in India if they were already touring in the region, as standalone concerts were not financially feasible. Arthur Fogel of Live Nation said that one of the factors in finally bringing U2 to India was that they were already "going to Southeast Asia, and there was the ability to add on a week at the end to accommodate Mumbai".[45] On 22 November, the band released a new single, "Ahimsa", with Indian musician A.R. Rahman to promote their concert in India.[46]

During their 4 December concert in Saitama, the band announced "U2X Radio", a dedicated U2 radio channel that launched for Sirius XM subscribers and Pandora Radio users in 2020. The announcement preceded a performance of "Elevation", which was streamed on Facebook Live.[47]

During the pre-show, the video screen displayed various poems. The band chose specific poetry "that expresses the experience of the country" in which they were performing so the audience members could reflect on it before the concerts.[59] Selected works included: "The Border: A Double Sonnet" by Alberto Ríos;[60] "Kaddish for Leonard Cohen" and "Ain't You Scared of the Sacred" by George Elliott Clarke;[61] "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman; "Ghazal for White Hen Pantry" by Jamila Woods;[62] "One Today" by Richard Blanco;[63] "Filipineza" by Bino Realuyo;[59] and works by Pedro Pietri, Lucille Clifton,[64] and Langston Hughes.[65] The first 10 concerts featured the Pogues' song "A Rainy Night in Soho" as introduction music to accompany U2 taking the stage;[66] starting with their performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, the Waterboys' song "The Whole of the Moon" was used instead for the remaining of the tour.[67]

U2 began the concerts on the B-stage by playing some of their earliest hits, including "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Year's Day", and "Pride (In the Name of Love)".[68] The third verse of "New Year's Day" was performed for the first time.[69] Bono said this act of the show comprised "songs that got [the band] to The Joshua Tree". No video reinforcement was used during this segment, as the group wanted their fans to concentrate on the music. Bono said he was forced to "make the singing be the connective tissue", adding, "It's nice being ants for a few songs since you've just got to focus on the music since there's nowhere else to look."[4] Williams described this part of the show as "U2 opening for U2", much like how they performed at music festivals with a lower billing earlier in their career.[3]

The video screen displayed UHD visuals, beginning with a performance of "Where the Streets Have No Name", which was accompanied by a film of a desert highway.

For The Joshua Tree segment of the concerts, the band performed on the main stage against a backdrop of visuals on the video screen.[68] Many of the songs were accompanied by short films depicting desert landscapes that were created by Corbijn.[6] The photographer said his objective was "putting The Joshua Tree into America now".[11] The album's opening song "Where the Streets Have No Name" was accompanied by a slow tracking shot of a desert highway featuring migrants walking.[11][54] For "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", a forest of trees was depicted;[70] many of the trees were burnt, which to Corbijn represented a "burnt American dream".[11] During "With or Without You", images of Zabriskie Point were displayed.[3] For "Bullet the Blue Sky", the visuals showed men and women of various ages and ethnicities putting on army helmets while standing in front of a shed painted with the American flag.[71] During the song's performance, Bono shone a handheld spotlight on the Edge, evoking the cover image of the band's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum.[69] For "Red Hill Mining Town", the Salvation Army brass band was depicted on screen, with their pre-recorded brass section accompanying the band's performance.[71] "Trip Through Your Wires" was accompanied by visuals of the Edge's wife, choreographer Morleigh Steinberg, dressed as a cowgirl while an American flag was painted on a wooden shack.[3][54] The video that played during "One Tree Hill" featured images of a blood red-coloured moon that faded into footage of Native Americans.[72][73] It was directed by Corbijn and filmed in Lancaster, California, over a 14-hour film shoot.[74] For concerts in Auckland on the 2019 tour, the band used "One Tree Hill" to pay tribute to the late New Zealander Greg Carroll, for whom the song was written; Carroll's likeness appeared on the screen at the end of these performances.[72]

Bono portraying a character called the "Shadow Man" during a performance of "Exit"

Prior to "Exit", a clip from the 1950s Western TV series Trackdown was shown; in the clip, a con man named Trump visits a town and promises he can build a wall around them to protect them from a supposed apocalypse.[11] The band were pleased when Bono discovered it, as they wanted to make a reference to US President Donald Trump during the show without belabouring their point.[3] The clip was followed by an image of hands tattooed "LOVE" and "HATE", inspired by the fanatic preacher/killer character in the film The Night of the Hunter.[68] During the performance of "Exit", Bono wore a black suit and preacher hat and adopted the persona of the "Shadow Man".[4][68] Taking influence from author Flannery O'Connor, whose works originally inspired the writing of the song, Bono used the Shadow Man to recite lines from O'Connor's novel Wise Blood and the "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" rhyme.[4]

The encore was described by Bono as a "denouement" intended as an ode to women. Speaking about the inspiration behind the idea, Williams said, "The thought was that we are currently living in a time when we could really use a more feminine spirit in our leadership and a way to illustrate this might be to celebrate some of the great female pioneers of the past."[75] Bono wanted to find "the sort of women that aren't welcome, that President Trump doesn't want in America" and commissioned French artist JR to find such a person.[4] After traveling to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, he found a 15-year-old Syrian refugee named Omaima.[4][68] Performances of "Miss Sarajevo" were preceded by a clip of her speaking about America as a dreamland,[68] which Bono said "gives you a kick in the balls, but in the most velvet way".[4] The song was accompanied by footage of the camp's bleak conditions,[76] while audience members passed a large sheet of fabric printed with Omaima's passport photo around the venue.[70] For "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)", the video screen displayed images of historical female figures and achievers. Prior to "One", Bono promoted the ONE Campaign by discussing the fight against HIV/AIDS.[68] Many concerts concluded with a performance of the new song "The Little Things That Give You Away", which was included on the group's 2017 album Songs of Experience.[4] Another song from the album, the lead single "You're the Best Thing About Me", was also performed during the encore.[77] Some concerts closed with "I Will Follow", from the band's first album, Boy (1980).[77]

Whilst the majority of the show for the 2019 concerts stayed faithful to the 2017 shows, a few changes were made to the setlist. "I Will Follow", which was played sporadically at the 2017 shows was given a regular slot between "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day" from the Melbourne show onwards.[78] Two exceptions to this were the second Tokyo show and the Manila show, where "Gloria" was played instead, making its tour debut.[79] The third verse of "New Year's Day" was dropped from the Adelaide show onwards, with the song ending after the final chorus similar to previous tours.[80] The Joshua Tree segment of the show remained the same as the 2017 shows, with the exception being the end of the main set. Instead of ending the main set with "Mothers of the Disappeared", as they did at the 2017 shows, the band would walk down to the B-stage as the song ended, would then bow to the audience and then end the main set with a performance of either "Angel of Harlem" or "Desire", both of which did not appear at any of the 2017 shows.[79] The band would then walk back up towards the main stage as either song concluded, ending the main set.

Bono in his MacPhisto costume during a performance of "Even Better Than the Real Thing" in Perth, Australia.

The encore was changed quite substantially from the 2017 shows, taking a number of influences from their recent Experience + Innocence Tour as well as incorporating more songs from their recent studio albums. The encore would open with the Influx Remix of "Elevation" playing over the PA, whilst also using the same video that the band used walking out of the "barricage" on the Experience + Innocence Tour.[81] The band then performed "Elevation", "Vertigo" and "Even Better Than the Real Thing", which was also the same sequence of songs that were used on the second act of the "Experience + Innocence Tour", including incorporating similar visual elements and Bono reprising his MacPhisto/Showman costume from the same tour.[82] The band would then perform a stripped-down version of either "Every Breaking Wave" in a similar performance to the Innocence + Experience Tour, or "You're the Best Thing About Me" in a similar performance to the Experience + Innocence Tour.[79] After this, "Beautiful Day" and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" would be played similar to how they were performed at the 2017 shows. "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way" was typically played next, although it was replaced by "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" at both Sydney shows and "Ahimsa" at the Mumbai show.[79] Every concert at the 2019 shows concluded with "One".[79]

During the 14 May 2017 show in Seattle, Eddie Vedder and Mumford & Sons accompanied U2 on-stage for a performance of "Mothers of the Disappeared".[83] Patti Smith joined U2 for a performance of the same song during their 26 July 2017 concert in Saint-Denis.[84] During the band's 15 December 2019 concert in Mumbai, they were accompanied by several guest performers: A.R. Rahman, his daughters Khatija and Raheema, and singer Rianjali Bhowmick joined the band for a rendition of "Ahimsa",[85] which Rahman and U2 had released as a single the month prior; Noel Gallagher joined the band for a performance of "Desire"; and at the end of the show, both Rahman and Gallagher accompanied U2 for "One".[86]

The tour received critical acclaim from critics, many of whom praised the band's performances, the production, and setlist. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune said that The Joshua Tree "still held sway" three decades after its release, adding: "Most compelling was that U2 made it sound less like a finished work, a monument from a long-lost decade, than a series of songs still in search of answers."[87] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian complimented the group for keeping older material contemporaneous through lyrical changes and thematic reinterpretations. He said, "But more striking still is how commanding and confident their performance seems, particularly given that it's not without risks." He concluded his review by describing them as "totally in their element".[88] The Evening Standard and The Independent also gave five star reviews,[89] with the latter calling it "a triumphant experience".[90]

At the 2017 Billboard Touring Awards, the tour won for Top Boxscore (at Stade de France on 25–26 July), while receiving nominations for Top Tour and Top Draw.[91][92] It also won for Top Boxscore at the following year's awards ceremony (for concerts at Estádio do Morumbi on 19, 21–22, and 25 October).[93] At the LOS40 Music Awards 2017, U2 won the Tour of the Year Award.[94] At the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, they won the award for Best Tour.[95] The group won two awards at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards: Top Touring Artist and Top Rock Tour.[96] The band were nominated in three categories at the 20th Annual Pollstar Awards: Major Tour of the Year, Rock Tour of the Year, and Most Creative Stage Production.[97] The tour also received nominations for Tour of the Year at the American Music Awards of 2017,[98] Live Performance of the Year at the 2017 BBC Music Awards,[99] and top Tour/Event Sound Production at the 33rd Annual TEC Awards.[100]

On the opening leg of the 2017 tour, the band's two concerts at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena drew 123,164 attendees, grossing $15.7 million. In Chicago, the two shows at Soldier Field sold 105,078 tickets and grossed $13.4 million.[101] The first North American leg of the tour, comprising 20 concerts excluding Bonnaroo, grossed $123.7 million from 1,043,414 tickets sold,[102] ranking the band first among all 2017 global touring artists with an average gross of $7,276,551 per city.[103] The European leg grossed $83 million from 744,454 tickets sold. The second North American leg grossed $38,585,915 from 350,292 tickets sold,[104] maintaining the band's top rank globally with an average gross of $7,229,076 per city.[105] The Latin American leg grossed $70 million from 574,976 tickets sold;[104] the leg and the tour ended with four sold-out shows in São Paulo that sold around 280,000 tickets. In total, the Joshua Tree Tour 2017 drew 2,713,136 attendees to 50 shows and grossed $316,990,940,[106] making it the highest-grossing tour of the year.[107] It also ranked as the year's highest-grossing North American tour with $176.1 million earned.[108] U2 were the highest-paid musical act in the world in 2017 with $54.4 million in earnings, $52 million of which they netted from touring.[109]

For the 2019 tour, U2 grossed $35.7 million from eight concerts in Oceania and $38.1 million from seven shows in Asia. In total, the 2019 tour grossed $73.8 million and sold 567,000 tickets. Across the two tours, the band cumulatively grossed $390.8 million from 3.3 million tickets sold.[110]