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After estimates of 2024's box office decline, U2 helped boost Billboard's chart with their Sphere residency. They played 15 shows in 2024 (25 in 2023).
Billboard unveiled their midyear recap of the Top 10 tours of the year. U2 and the Sphere helped boost the Billboard list to gross $1.5 billion. The Irish rock band's 2024 shows grossed $231.6 million, leading the list.
While U2 only played shows through March 2, 2024, other acts have stepped up to the plate. Phish played four nights at the Las Vegas venue in April 2024 before Dead and Company took over.
Since May 16, 2024, Dead and Company has been playing a residency at the venue. They recently extended their stay through August 2024. At the time of this writing, they will play a total of 30 shows at the venue, the second-most behind U2.
Aside from concerts, the Sphere is used to project films. The venue features a 16K resolution screen that wraps the interior of the venue. Darren Aronofsky directed a documentary, Postcard from Earth, for the venue that premiered on October 6, 2023.
U2's Sphere residency
From September 29, 2023, through March 2, 2024, U2 was the first band to play at the high-tech Las Vegas Sphere. They played 40 shows at the venue in that span. This marked the first time that the Irish rock band had ever performed a concert residency.
The residency was centered around the band's 1991 album, Achtung Baby. During the shows, U2 played the album in its entirety. Album tracks such as “Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World” and “So Cruel” were dusted off for the residency.
U2 expanded their setlist beyond Achtung Baby. In the middle of every set, the band played four songs in a stripped-down arrangement. The song selections ranged from big hits like “Angel of Harlem” and “City of Blinding Lights” to deep cuts such as “Love Rescue Me” and “Peace on Earth.”
The encore was filled with some of the band's biggest hits of the last two decades and ended with the euphoric “Beautiful Day.” To promote the residency, the band released “Atomic City.”
Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton of U2 were present for the shows. However, Larry Mullen Jr. sat out of the residency. He was recovering from health issues so Bram van den Berg filled in.
Who are U2?
In their career, U2 has won 22 Grammy Awards. They have been nominated for a total of 46 awards at the ceremony. Their most recent nomination came in 2015 for Best Rock Album for Songs of Innocence.
That album kicked off what's been a “Songs of” era for the band. U2 released Songs of Innocence in 2014 before Songs of Experience was released in 2018. Each album also received a concert tour that helped tell Bono and the band's stories.
In 2023, U2 released the third entry in the series, Songs of Surrender. The album is a collection of 40 songs from the band's back catalog. They re-recorded new arrangements of the songs. Bono rewrote some of the song's lyrics as well.
Bono released his memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, in 2022. He also embarked on a solo tour, the “Stories of Surrender” tour, which concluded in 2023.
