Watch U2 Premiere Acoustic Crowded House Cover At Vegas Sphere

U2 brought their Las Vegas Sphere residency into 2024 on Friday with a show that saw a performance of Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over” in full for the first time. Ahead of their first Sphere show this year, the band showed off the state-of-the-art Vegas venue with a video of “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and also announced they’ll perform live from Sphere for the Grammy Awards.

U2’s Sphere shows have seen the band celebrating their album Achtung Baby including a full performance of the 1991 LP. The band has been breaking up the record’s 12 tracks with a “Turntable” section.

On Friday, the segment saw Bono on keyboards for the rarity, “Sweetest Thing,” played for the first time played since 2017 as per Setlist FM stats, and closed with the aforementioned full premiere of “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” The cover featured just frontman Bono and guitarist The Edge. The nod was dedicated to Crowded House’s Neil Finn and his family. Ahead of the song, Bono offered some thoughts on the meaning of freedom. Watch below:

After finishing up Achtung Baby, U2 delivered their encore including new single, “Atomic City,” which gets its title from Las Vegas’ old nickname due to its proximity to nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s. The Sphere encore has also included classics like “Where The Streets Have No Name,” “With Or Without You” and closer “Beautiful Day.”

In other U2 Sphere news, the band will perform live from the venue for the Grammy Awards — the first broadcast live from Sphere. The Grammys air this Sunday, February 4 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. U2 recently showed off the venue’s stunning production capabilities with a video of Achtung Baby’s “Even Better Than The Real Thing.” Watch below:

U2’s Sphere residency continues on Wednesday. Find the schedule and ticket info below: