The groundbreaking Irish band will be presented with the award in Tulsa
U2 has been named the recipient of the 2025 Woody Guthrie Prize. The award will be granted on October 21st at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This prestigious award annually recognizes a recipient who embodies the spirit of Woody Guthrie’s social consciousness and musical legacy. In their art and in their actions, U2 band members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. continue a tradition of using music as a force for social change, echoing Guthrie’s belief that songs can help make the world a fairer place.
Bono and The Edge will return to Cain’s Ballroom – for the first time since U2’s 1981 show on the U.S. leg of The Boy Tour – to accept the award and participate in an onstage conversation about the band’s music. They look forward to legally buying their own pints this time around.
“U2 embodies the mission of the Woody Guthrie Prize, using music to confront injustice and inspire action,” states Cady Shaw, Senior Director, Woody Guthrie Center. “By presenting the 2025 Woody Guthrie Prize to U2, we honor a legacy of music that continues to challenge who we are and connect us the world over.”
Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 has built a career rooted in songs and music that celebrate the same ideals Woody Guthrie sang for: love, hope, justice, equity and the dignity of every person; from early works like War and “Pride (In the Name of Love)” — a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — to enduring anthems such as “One” and “Walk On.”
The recipients of Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award, which recognizes individuals and groups who have promoted and enhanced the cause of human rights, the four U2 band members have long used their platform as artists to highlight social issues and effect change. From their support of organizations such as (RED) and The ONE Campaign (both co-founded by Bono) and Music Rising (co-founded by The Edge), among many others, to the co-funding of Music Generation, Ireland’s National Music Education Programme, which transforms the lives of children and young people through access to high-quality subsidized performance music education.
The fundraising evening will also feature remarks from center director, Cady Shaw, and Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter, Anna Canoni, who will share her family’s appreciation of U2 as the standard bearers of Woody’s legacy. U2 will join past recipients Pete Seeger (2014), Mavis Staples (2015), Kris Kristofferson (2016), Norman Lear (2017), John Mellencamp (2018), Chuck D (2019), Joan Baez (2020), Bruce Springsteen (2021), Pussy Riot (2023) and Tom Morello (2024).
A limited number of experience packages will be available for sponsors and members of the Woody Guthrie Center.
