Edge performs at the Women's March in Los Angeles
The Edge and his wife Morleigh marched today in the Los Angeles Women's March, one of a series of massive protests in cities worldwide against the election and policies of Donald Trump, whose inauguration as US president occurred yesterday.
During the march Edge joined other musicians on stage to perform Pride on a temporary stage at the intersection of 6th St and Broadway. He played guitar and sang, and the musicians with him were Juliette Lewis (vocals), Abby Travers (bass, of Sumo Princess), and Brad Wilk (drums, of Prophets of Rage). Watch a video of the performance here:
This is the only song in which Edge participated. Our database entry for this event is here.
This performance should come as little surprise. Prior to Trump's election, U2 articulated strong opposition to aspects of his campaign platform they perceived as motivated by greed and hate. This occurred most notably in their performances of Desire on 23 September 2016 and Bullet the Blue Sky on 5 October 2016. The band have also cited the radical shift in global politics to explain their motivation to undertake the Joshua Tree Tour 2017. Unlike those two performances in 2016, however, in which the band attacked Trump directly, this performance of Pride emphasised hope and resistance, with Lewis chanting that "the power of the people trumps the people in power".
U2, or members thereof, have performed at events related to past presidential inaugurations, but this is the first in a protest capacity. On 20 January 1993, Adam and Larry joined REM's Michael Stipe and Mike Mills as "Automatic Baby" for an MTV concert associated with Bill Clinton's inauguration. And then on 18 January 2009, the entire band performed for the inauguration of Barack Obama.