Musician Glen Hansard has been organizing a Christmas charity event in Dublin for several years now. And to support the Irish event, Ireland’s very own rockstar, Bono of U2, has been making appearances at the annual event. In previous years, Bono has performed the holiday classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love in 2020, as well as “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way” and the carols, “O Holy Night” and “O Night Divine” back in 2018. Both of those years, Edge joined him in his performance. This year, however, he showed up by himself and played with a group of Irish musicians, including Hansard, as his backing band.
After giving the people what they want with The Joshua Tree tour in 2017, he’s since realized how near and dear this album — well, and Achtung Baby — are to U2 fans. In that spirit, he performed “Running To Stand Still” from The Joshua Tree at the event as a slightly more subdued version, but complete with a harmonica solo. Previously the event was held on Dublin’s Grafton Street, but this year the concert 2021 was moved to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and performed as a livestream event, with all the proceeds still set to benefit Simon Community.
Check out the performance above, and if you’d like to support the charity efforts of Hansard, donate to support people experiencing homelessness across Ireland right here.
