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U2 Honored as MusiCares’ 2027 Persons of the Year
Confirmed
In Short: U2 will be recognized as MusiCares' 2027 Persons of the Year at a gala on February 5, 2027, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
U2 will be honored as MusiCares' 2027 Persons of the Year, marking the first time the entire band will receive the accolade. The event, which will take place on February 5, 2027, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, celebrates the band's significant contributions to music and their humanitarian efforts.
The recognition comes 24 years after Bono, the band's front-man, was honored individually in 2003. MusiCares, the nonprofit organization under the Recording Academy, has previously honored solo artists such as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Paul McCartney, but U2 will be the first band to receive this honor.
Throughout their career, U2 has demonstrated the extraordinary power of music to bring people together, draw attention to urgent needs, and inspire action, according to Theresa Wolters, executive director of MusiCares. The event will feature a cocktail reception, dinner, and a tribute concert with performances by renowned artists celebrating the band's music and humanitarian work.
The MusiCares Persons of the Year event has traditionally raised funds to support the organization's programs, including health and wellness services, addiction recovery, mental health, preventive care, disaster relief, and financial assistance for music professionals. Since its founding in 1991, the gala has been a significant event in the music industry, highlighting the impact of artists beyond their music.
What's confirmed
- “We are huge fans of MusiCares and the lifelines they provide across the incredible pool of talent that is the music industry,” the members of U2 said in a joint statement.
- “We are honored to celebrate and recognize U2 as this year’s MusiCares Persons of the Year,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy and MusiCares, said in a statement.
- The 36th annual Persons of the Year benefit gala will be held at a new location, Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Friday, Feb.
- “Throughout their career, U2 has demonstrated the extraordinary power of music to bring people together, draw attention to urgent needs and inspire action,” Theresa Wolters, executive director of MusiCares, said in a statement.
- U2 have been named MusiCares’ 2027 Persons of the Year.
- The MusiCares Persons of the Year event has traditionally featured a cocktail reception, dinner and a tribute concert with performances by renowned artists celebrating the honoree’s music and humanitarian work.
What's still developing
- MusiCares is also introducing a new way for fans to experience the celebration.
- MusiCares officials noted the group is marking its 50th anniversary, having teamed up in high school in Dublin in 1976.
- Previous recipients of the MusiCares Person of the Year honor include Jon Bon Jovi, Berry Gordy, Joni Mitchell, Mariah Carey and the Grateful Dead.
- MusiCares, like the Grammy Awards, is presented under the auspices of the nonprofit Recording Academy and honors artists for their artistic legacies and their charitable work.
- In the four decades since its inception, MusiCares has raised more than $100 million to provide assistance to musicians and other music-industry workers facing financial, medical and personal hardships, including addiction recovery and disaster relief.
- The artists set to play U2’s classics in front of U2 have yet to be announced.
- “ Bono was previously honored as the 2003 MusiCares Person of the Year and today’s announcement from the organization notes that the “2027 recognition tells a broader story: one of four bandmates who, together and through causes personal to each of them, have spent decades putting the platform of U2 in service of others.
- U2’s activism for peace, justice and human rights dates back to their early days, with MusiCares noting that they first campaigned against apartheid in South Africa before they had a record deal.