• U2 surprise-released the six-track “Days of Ash” EP on Ash Wednesday, led by “American Obituary,” a tribute to slain Minneapolis mother Renee Good
• The band joins Bruce Springsteen, Billie Eilish, Neil Young and other artists who have released music condemning federal immigration enforcement operations
• Good’s family endorsed the tribute while the federal government maintains there is no criminal investigation into her January killing

DUBLIN, IRELAND (TDR) — Irish rock legends U2 surprise-released a six-track EP on Ash Wednesday that opens with a pointed tribute to Renee Good, the 37-year-old Minneapolis mother fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on Jan. 7. The collection, titled “Days of Ash”, marks the band’s first substantial release of new studio material since 2017’s “Songs of Experience” and arrives amid a growing wave of high-profile musical responses to federal immigration enforcement operations.

“These songs were impatient to be out in the world. They are songs of defiance and dismay, of lamentation. Songs of celebration will follow, we’re working on those now.” — Bono, in a statement accompanying the EP release

What the EP Actually Says

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The lead track, “American Obituary,” is a four-minute-plus rocker that names Good directly and references the specific details of her killing. Frontman Bono sings of a mother of three gunned down on the seventh day of January, challenging the federal government’s characterization of her actions as domestic terrorism.

“‘American Obituary’ is a song of fury … but more than that … a song of grief. Not just for Renee, but the death of an America that at the very least would have had an inquiry into her killing.” — Bono, in the band’s relaunched Propaganda magazine

Bono told the publication he began writing the lyrics the day after Good was killed. The song’s rhythmic structure, he said, nods to Bob Dylan’s “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” — but where Dylan’s child sings to the mother, U2’s mother sings to her children.

The EP extends well beyond Minneapolis. “Song of the Future” honors Sarina Esmailzadeh, a 16-year-old Iranian girl beaten to death by security forces during the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom uprising. “Wildpeace” sets a poem by Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai to music, read by Nigerian artist Adeola Fayehun. The closing track, “Yours Eternally,” features Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian soldier-musician Taras Topolia, who has been fighting on the front lines against Russia. That track will be accompanied by a short documentary timed to the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

“Who needs to hear a new record from us? It just depends on whether we’re making music we feel deserves to be heard. I believe these new songs stand up to our best work.” — Larry Mullen Jr., U2 drummer, in a statement

A Growing Chorus of Musical Protest

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U2 is far from the first major act to respond musically to Good’s killing. Bruce Springsteen released “Streets of Minneapolis” on Jan. 28, memorializing both Good and Alex Pretti, a second person killed during federal enforcement operations in the city. Springsteen also released an anti-administration EP, “Land of Hope and Dreams,” that included onstage speeches calling the administration “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous.”

Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews and Neil Young have also publicly condemned ICE operations following the shooting. The accumulation of protest music from some of the world’s most recognized artists represents a cultural response that has outpaced the official investigative response — the federal government has said there is no criminal investigation into Good’s death, and has cut the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension out of accessing evidence.

Bono acknowledged the political risks directly, noting that Americans have generally given him “permission to mouth off” and that he has been “an equal opportunity pest on the left as well as the right.”

The Good Family Responds

Good’s family endorsed the tribute through their attorney Antonio Romanucci of Romanucci & Blandin, the firm representing them in a civil case connected to her death.

“Renee didn’t just believe in kindness; she lived it, fully and fiercely. She would be deeply moved by this tribute from U2, and would hope it makes a difference in the world.” — Becca Good, Renee Good’s partner, in a statement

“It is an incredible honor to have the talent and impact of U2 spreading a message of peace in Renee’s name. We certainly feel the urgency of the country’s situation reflected in the band’s powerful call for change and coming together.” — Good’s parents and siblings, in a statement

The EP was released alongside lyric videos for each track and a special 40th anniversary digital edition of U2’s long-running magazine Propaganda, which includes an interview with Mullen about his return to the studio after surgery and Bono’s extended reflections on each song’s inspiration. A full-length album with what Bono described as a more “joyful tone” remains in the works for later this year.

Good was fatally shot in the driver’s seat of her SUV during an encounter with ICE officer Jonathan Ross on a residential Minneapolis street during Operation Metro Surge. Video footage analyzed by multiple outlets showed Good’s vehicle turning away from Ross when he opened fire. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called Good’s actions “an act of domestic terrorism.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the federal account “bullshit.” An independent autopsy commissioned by Good’s family found she was shot three times, including once in the head.

When the world’s biggest artists are writing songs about a killing that has no criminal investigation, is the music filling an accountability gap — or does protest art risk replacing the institutional response it’s demanding?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from NBC News’ coverage of the EP release, Variety’s review of “Days of Ash”, Rolling Stone’s track-by-track breakdown, reporting by The Hill, CBS Minnesota, The Daily Beast, U.S. News & World Report, and AP via Fox 9, a statement from Romanucci & Blandin, and CNN’s investigation into the shooting.

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