The Irish rock band U2, in 2025. ANTON CORBIJN/U2
After Bruce Springsteen ("Street of Minneapolis"), Jesse Welles ("Join ICE"), Neil Young ("Big Crime") and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth ("Bye Bye"), another combative voice in rock, that of Ireland's U2, is speaking out against the excesses of the new Trump era and the abuses of ICE, the US federal immigration police, with the track "American Obituary." This electrifying 4-minute and 26-second protest song appears on Bono's band's new six-track EP, Days of Ash, released on streaming platforms on Thursday, February 19, and includes other songs tackling burning issues of the day, from Iran and Africa to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Ukraine.
After more introspective albums reflecting on their youth (Songs of Innocence, in 2013) and their journey (Songs of Experience, in 2017, and Songs of Surrender, in 2023, an acoustic reinterpretation of selections from their catalog), U2 has returned to the activism that has often fueled its musical passion and the public life of its lead singer.
An activist for organizations such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace, and the driving force behind charitable projects like One and campaigns to cancel debt for the world's poorest countries, Bono has had the opportunity to act as an ambassador to the world's powerful, including several US presidents. It is unlikely that he will approach Donald Trump, whom he has already criticized for cutting budgets for development aid and international health initiatives.
