Overview
- The 24‑song album Carnaval de Luz was released for the band's 50th anniversary and is framed by U2 as the culmination of two earlier 2026 EPs.
- The record closes with Torn, a duet between Bono and Dolly Parton that The Edge has described as Parton's final recorded vocal.
- The Edge says Parton sent a fragment she had started, which the band adapted and recorded with her in Nashville in June, and that she rose from bed to sing the part she completed.
- U2 says several songs on the album and the prior EPs address current conflicts and abuses, with lyrics referencing Ukraine, Palestine and violence linked to ICE.
- The band highlights Music Generation, its music‑education initiative that The Edge says reaches roughly 300,000 adolescents a year, as a central noncommercial effort tied to the record's themes and aims.