U2 Release Easter Lily EP Featuring 6 New Tracks

U2 released a surprise six-track EP titled Easter Lily on Good Friday, April 3, marking the band’s second standalone collection of new music in 2026 and their most personal yet.

The release follows <a href=”https://music.mxdwn.com/2026/02/25/news/u2-release-new-ep-days-of-ash-share-new-single-american-obituary-about-ice-killing-of-renee-good/”>February’s Days of Ash EP</a>, which arrived on Ash Wednesday and focused outward on war, protest and injustice. Where that record looked to the world, Easter Lily turns inward. The band describes it as emerging from “a more personal, private place,” with songs exploring friendship, loss, hope and renewal. Both EPs are separate from a new full-length studio album, which remains in progress and is expected later in 2026.

In a note to fans, Bono wrote: “We are in the studio, still working towards a noisy, messy, ‘unreasonably colourful’ album to play LIVE… which is where U2 lives. We still look to vivid rock n roll as an act of resistance against all this awfulness on our small screens. These are for sure ‘wilderness years’ for so many of us looking at the mayhem out there in the world.”

He continued: “With Easter Lily we ended up asking very personal questions like: Are our own relationships up to these challenging times? How hard do you fight for friendship? Can our faith survive the mangling of meaning that those algorithms love to reward? From the rite of Spring to Easter and its promise of rebirth and renewal… Patti Smith’s album Easter gave me so much hope when it was released in 1978. I wasn’t yet 18. The title is a nod to her.”

The EP opens with “Song for Hal,” a COVID-19 lockdown lament featuring The Edge on lead vocals, written in memory of producer and music-maker Hal Willner, who died in April 2020 and would have turned 70 on Easter Monday. “In a Life” is a celebration of long friendship. “Scars” is a song of encouragement and self-acceptance. “Resurrection Song” is described as a road trip into the unknown. “Easter Parade” is a devotional piece about rebirth. The closing track, “COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?),” features a soundscape by Brian Eno and was written as a lullaby for parents of children caught up in war.

The EP is produced by Jacknife Lee and is available now on all DSPs as a digital download.

Tracklist:

1. Song for Hal
2. In a Life
3. Scars
4. Resurrection Song
5. Easter Parade
6. COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?) ft. a soundscape by Brian Eno

Easter Lily arrives alongside a special 52-page digital edition of Propaganda, the band’s fan magazine, first published in 1986. Titled U2 – Propaganda – Easter Lily, the issue features sleeve notes from The Edge, a piece from Adam Clayton on art and recovery, in-studio photographs by Larry Mullen Jr., a conversation between Bono and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr, a tribute to Hal Willner by Gavin Friday, and an interview with producer Jacknife Lee.

Previously on mxdwn:

<a href=”https://music.mxdwn.com/2026/02/25/news/u2-release-new-ep-days-of-ash-share-new-single-american-obituary-about-ice-killing-of-renee-good/”>U2 Release New EP Days Of Ash, Share New Single “American Obituary” About ICE Killing Of Renee Good</a>

<a href=”https://music.mxdwn.com/2025/08/11/news/u2-clears-up-their-stance-on-israel-and-gaza-with-statement/”>U2 Clears Up Their Stance On Israel And Gaza With Statement</a>

<a href=”https://music.mxdwn.com/2024/11/23/news/u2-unveils-previously-unreleased-track-luckiest-man-in-the-world/”>U2 Unveils Previously Unreleased Track “Luckiest Man In The World”</a>

<a href=”https://music.mxdwn.com/2024/10/26/news/u2-shares-a-positive-update-on-drummer-larry-mullen-jrs-health/”>U2 Shares a Positive Update on Drummer Larry Mullen Jr’s Health</a>