U2 Experience + Innocence Tour 2018: 60 Shows, an AR Bono and the 'Barricage'

U2’s Experience + Innocence Tour played 60 arena shows between May 2 and Nov. 13, 2018, selling 923,733 tickets and grossing $126.2 million. It supported Songs of Experience, the companion album to Songs of Innocence.

The tour opened in Tulsa, Oklahoma and ended in Berlin, with legs in North America and Europe.

The barricage and augmented reality

The show reused the 2015 layout of a main stage, a 120 ft walkway and a 24 ft B-stage, with set design by Es Devlin. The video cage became the “barricage,” a double-sided LED screen 95 ft by 23 ft that was far more see-through than its predecessor: about 75% transparent, compared with 45% in 2015.

U2 also added augmented reality. Willie Williams worked with Nexus Studios on effects fans could see through the U2 phone app. In the US, the show travelled in 27 trucks.

Bono loses his voice in Berlin

The Berlin show on Sept. 1, 2018 ended after five songs when Bono suffered what the band called a “complete loss of voice.” It was made up on Nov. 13, 2018, which became the final night of the tour.

The pre-show music

There was no opening act. After five shows, the pre-show music changed from I Break Horses’ “Winter Beats” to Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ “It’s a Beautiful World.”

U2 went back to stadiums with the Joshua Tree Tour 2019, and their next stadium tour is the U2 tour 2027.