U2 Receives Woody Guthrie Prize
Bono and The Edge accepted the prize, which celebrates the belief that music can be a force for social justice.
U2 are the latest recipients of the Woody Guthrie Prize, which honors those who embody the belief that music can be a force for social justice and change. Bono and The Edge accepted the prize on behalf of the band at a ceremony hosted by the Woody Guthrie Center and held at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Ahead of the award presentation, Bono and The Edge participated in an onstage conversation about art, activism, poetry, and protest with producer and musician T Bone Burnett.
“Our favorite protest songs always had a sense of vision, something to aim for. … You don’t talk about the darkness, you make the light brighter,” The Edge said, adding: “I believe music can actually change the mood of the room and actually shift a culture.”
Bono credited Bob Dylan for introducing U2 to Guthrie’s music. “Bob Dylan really did bring us to the place where the song was an instrument to open up worlds. And the world of Woody Guthrie, I wouldn’t have entered if not for Bob.”
Bono also referenced the current challenges confronting America. “America is the greatest song still yet to be written. The poetry is there but it’s still being written… don’t imagine it will continue to be extraordinary on its own, that if you fell asleep and woke up in twenty years, the world would be fairer or freer. It won’t, that’s not the way it works.”
When speaking with Burnett about the songwriting process relative to protest songs, Bono spoke about finding motivation in emotion, saying, “You can’t write a song to order.” He read lyrics to a song that is a work-in-progress, written about the July killing of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen by an Israeli settler.
Bono and The Edge performed six songs, including a pair of tracks that incorporated snippets of Guthrie songs. The set featured “Running to Stand Still” (with a snippet of “Bound for Glory” by Guthrie), “Mothers of the Disappeared,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “One,” “Pride (In the Name of Love)” (with a snippet of Guthrie’s “Jesus Christ”), and “Yahweh.”
The last time Bono and The Edge were at Cain’s Ballroom was in 1981 to promote U2’s debut album, Boy.
Guthrie’s granddaughter Anna Canoni and Woody Guthrie Center director Cady Shaw also spoke at the event. “Woody and U2 have been aligned for decades,” said Canoni. “Whether it is protesting against war and violence, standing up for humanitarian rights, singing about greed, corruption and injustice.”
The event raised funds to support the Center’s educational programs, public concerts, exhibitions and the legacy of Guthrie. The event was presented by the Harper House Music Foundation. Previous honorees of The Woody Guthrie Prize include Tom Morello, Pete Seeger, Mavis Staples, Kris Kristofferson, John Mellencamp, Chuck D, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen and Pussy Riot.
