Bono, The Edge Accept Guthrie Prize; Clayton Auctions Guitars

Bono and The Edge accepted the 2025 Woody Guthrie Prize at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, their first return to the venue since 1981, during a Woody Guthrie Center ceremony that paired an onstage conversation about art and activism with a surprise 45-minute, six-song acoustic set. They performed classics including “One,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Running to Stand Still,” “Mothers of the Disappeared” and “Pride (In the Name of Love),” covered Guthrie’s “Jesus Christ” and sang a capella Beatles lines while discussing Guthrie’s influence and the purpose of protest songs. Bono read lyrics from an unfinished song about Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen and suggested the lines could feed into U2’s first album in more than eight years. The Woody Guthrie Center ran a virtual silent auction that featured a Gibson ’70s Explorer signed by Bono and The Edge. Separately, U2 bassist Adam Clayton is exhibiting 18 guitars at Newbridge Silverware’s Museum of Style Icons in Ireland before they are sold by Julien’s Auctions in Nashville, with some proceeds slated to benefit MusiCares.