U2 Surprises Fans with ‘Easter Lily’ EP, Featuring The Edge on Lead Vocals and Brian Eno Collaboration
U2 released their second surprise EP of 2026, Easter Lily, on Excellent Friday, April 3, 2026. The six-track collection follows Days of Ash, which arrived on Ash Wednesday in February, and explores themes of friendship, loss, faith, and renewal.
Bono named the EP after Patti Smith’s 1978 album Easter, which he said gave him hope as a teenager, reflecting the project’s spiritual and reflective nature. U2Radio reports.
Track Listing and Key Collaborations
Easter Lily features a notable shift in vocal duties, with The Edge taking the lead on “Song for Hal,” a tribute to longtime U2 collaborator Hal Willner, an American music producer who passed away in 2020. U2songs.com details the EP’s tracklist:
- “Song for Hal” (04:38)
- “In A Life” (04:33)
- “Scars” (05:17)
- “Resurrection Song” (05:02)
- “Easter Parade” (06:08)
- “COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)” (06:48) – U2 / Soundscape by Brian Eno
The EP also includes a soundscape collaboration with Brian Eno on the closing track, “COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?).” The band describes this track as a “lullaby” for parents of children caught in conflict zones. U2Radio
Context and Companion Material
Like Days of Ash, the digital EP is accompanied by a novel issue of Propaganda magazine, Volume 3, Issue 2, featuring track information and liner notes from all four band members. U2.com notes that the magazine includes sleeve notes from The Edge, Adam Clayton’s reflections on art and recovery, and a conversation between Bono and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and fasting leading up to Easter. U2 released Easter Lily on Good Friday, continuing that thematic significance. The Easter Lily itself is a symbol tied to Irish history, representing remembrance and the purity of Christ. U2songs.com
Future Projects
These EPs are separate from U2’s upcoming full-length studio album, which is still in development. Bono has described the forthcoming album as “noisy, messy, and unreasonably colourful,” designed for live performance. The 2026 EPs represent songs that the band felt were too urgent to wait for the album’s release later in the year. U2Radio
Easter Lily is available on all major streaming platforms.
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