BREAKING NEWS: We are thrilled to announce film director Dominic J. DeJoseph will screen his 2003 documentary, The Heart of America Tour: Africa’s Future And Ours, as a part of our opening night U2 conference kickoff at The Carolina Theater, October 2, 2009, starting at 9:20 p.m.  (Doors open at 9:00 p.m.)

We are grateful to ONE for their kind permission to show this unreleased film. This film has been screened only once before in the United States, at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2003.

The Heart of America Tour is a 30-minute documentary chronicling a grassroots trip through the Midwest by Bono of U2, Ashley Judd, Chris Tucker and Agnes Nyamayarwo, as they meet with the people of the Midwest, senators, AIDS activists, church groups, and others to discuss the AIDS emergency in Africa. Produced by the DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) Foundation - now ONE.

Dominic and Agnes Nyamayarwo will conduct a brief Q & A following the film.  After which, there will be a 10 minute break before the start of It Might Get Loud, the new Sony Pictures Classics film about the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.

Dominic J. DeJoseph is an independent film and video director and founder of the production company, Black Shoe Films, though which he has directed music videos for R.E.M. and the RED(WIRE) website. In 2001, he directed a documentary featuring Wim Wenders and Bono called The One Dollar Diary as well as The Heart of America Tour documentary.

Dominic’s films and videos have screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, South by Southwest, SILVERDOCS and the Robert Flaherty Documentary Seminar, among others. His work has also been shown on MTV, IFC, and Documentary Channel. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

This screening is part of our ticketed, Friday night reception and double feature film package.

(We regret to announce due to production problems, Meet Me In the Sound will not be ready to show at the conference.)

Order your Friday night ticket here.

Details about our pre-film reception at Bull McCabes Irish pub are here.

We’re hitting the airwaves this week to spread the word.

Earlier today, Conference Director Scott Calhoun recorded an interview with MusicSpot to be distributed in Ireland.  You might have heard him live “On the QT” today in Dublin, chatting with Q102 FM’s Scott Williams.

And on Thursday, in Cleveland, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, he’ll be in the studio with Mary and Todd for WBWC-FM’s U2 Radio Marathon. You can stream the 18-hour marathon with RealPlayer from WBWC-FM’s site.

On Monday, August 31, at 5:45 p.m. Dublin time, I’ll be talking about the U2 conference on Scott Williams’ drivetime chat show , “On the QT.” It airs on Q102 FM.

One of the questions they said they would like to hear about goes like this: “There’s a lot of debate in Ireland about the fact that U2 are beleived to pay their tax out of the country and yet their frontman is so vocal about economic issues … How do people view Bono in the states?”

Well, how do we view Bono in the states on this matter?

News coverage is picking up this week and we hope to see even more press as we get closer to U2’s U.S. tour kick-off date on Sept. 12 in Chicago.

Here is the latest from this week (so far):

1. Alison Healy writing in the Irish Times:

Have you ever considered the convergence of spiritual longing and sexual desires in the music of U2? Have you pondered on the imaginative experience that links Yeats’s The Tower and U2’s Lemon ? Or perhaps you are more interested in the representations of laissez faire inherent in U2’s music? If these issues are keeping you awake at night, then help is at hand.  Continue.

2. Ireland’s leading music magazine, Hot Press, writes:

Move over James Joyce. It seems Ireland’s hottest intellectual property is a “band of ambitions, paradoxes, ironies and sincerity,” better known to the rest of us as U2. Continue.

3. From the BBC’s Northern Ireland bureau:

When U2 sang “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”, were they paying tribute to one of the blackest days in Northern Ireland’s history, or was Alan Partridge right and Bono was just on about his least favourite day of the week? Well perhaps this question will be one of many answered at what is being billed as the “first academic conference on the world’s biggest band”. Continue.

4. And Brad Frennette writes for “The Ampersand” (”It’s Everything Between Pop & Culture”) in Canada’s National Post:

There’s no denying that U2 remain the world’s biggest band. They are in the midst of a massive tour, with a recent pair of shows in London that drew 170,000 people. And U2’s fans are a passionate lot. Just bring up the album “Pop” in a fan forum and  watch the lines drawn and all caps come out. …  To further sate the frenzy for information on Bono and company, the world’s first “academic conference on the world’s biggest band” has been announced. Continue.

Keep following the coverage by following the U2 Conference on Twitter and registering for e-mail alerts.

This is the text of our 08.18.09 press release.

FULL PROGRAM POSTED FOR UPCOMING U2 CONFERENCE

Release date: August 18, 2009

U2: The Hype and The Feedback, the first academic conference on the world’s biggest band, has posted a complete program schedule of over 40 presentations on a wide range of topics on the music, work and influence of U2. ( www.u2conference.com/schedule.php )

As U2 take to U.S. stadiums this fall on their 360° tour, a celebration of their big ideas and epic cultural impact will bring together fans from around the world who relate to U2’s plea: “Let me in the sound!” U2: The Hype and The Feedback touches down October 2 - 4, 2009 in Durham, North Carolina, on the campus of North Carolina Central University, — the same weekend as a U2 concert in Raleigh.

“This will be the place to meet and hear people long connected to U2 and to covering their career,” says organizer Scott Calhoun, English professor and a U2 academician. “The whole weekend is for discussing U2, and the 360° tour makes a stop nearby too.”

Speakers to date include Rolling Stone contributing editor (and Ph.D) Anthony DeCurtis, the UK’s Telegraph columnist (and schoolmate of the band members) Neil McCormick, Ugandan AIDS activist Agnes Nyamawaro, who has worked with Bono’s ONE Campaign, and Matt McGee, founder of @U2 (www.atu2.com) and author of U2-A Diary.  Attendees will also hear from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Curator Jim Henke via video.

An international line-up of paper presenters will talk about topics ranging from “U2 and the Politics of Irony” to “Bono Versus Nick Cave on Jesus” and “U2: An Elevated Brand,” as well as other topics addressing U2’s influence in rock history, the entertainment industry, and on humanitarian and social justice initiatives.

“We know U2’s appeal is without borders and everyone is welcome. Whether you come in tweed or leather, do vinyl or download, you’ll connect with people who want to talk about U2,” Calhoun promises.

Host school North Carolina Central University (NCCU) will kick off its centennial celebration this fall. Rich in history, NCCU is the nation’s first state supported liberal arts college founded for African Americans. The late historian John Hope Franklin once taught at NCCU and jazz great Branford Marsalis is currently an artist-in-residence.

Located in the Research Triangle, between Raleigh and Chapel Hill, Durham is a vibrant city for education, arts and culture, and was recently named by Forbes as the #3 “Best Place for Business” and by U. S. News & World Report as the #5 “Best Places to Live” in the United States.

“Durham has been well-served for a long time by NCCU’s efforts to educate students and the community through the arts and music,” Calhoun said. “In that respect, the institution closely parallels U2’s history which has been to create music that inspires everyone and honors the overlooked, the oppressed and the champions of freedom for all peoples, from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to Central America’s Mothers of the Disappeared, and more recently Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.  We’re thrilled we can bring the conference to Durham and be on their campus for the weekend.”

Register for U2: The Hype and the Feedback at www.U2conference.com

Contact: press@U2conference.com

so we are doing the conference for them!

No, U2 aren’t hosting a academic conference about themselves.  When would they have the time??  And who could they get for their main speakers??

Maybe you saw this headline on a press release issued by North Carolina Central University and picked up by many agencies, including ModernGhana.com: “Renowned Rock Band U2 To Host Academic Conference At NCCU.”

The headline should be, as we posted on our blog Monday, and on our Press page, and as reported by @U2: “First Academic Conference on Renowned Rock Band U2.” Just a few words difference, but kind of a big difference in meaning, eh?

North Carolina Central University is hosting the conference and we’re thrilled to be working with them.  And we’ll all save some seats for the band if they should have some down time and want to stop by.

FIRST ACADEMIC CONFERENCE ON RENOWNED ROCK BAND U2

As U2 take to the stadiums this fall in their 360° Tour, a celebration of their Big Ideas and epic cultural impact will bring together fans from around the world who relate to U2’s plea: “Let me in the sound!” The first academic conference on the world’s biggest band, U2: The Hype and The Feedback, touches down October 2-4, 2009 at North Carolina Central University in Durham — the same weekend as a U2 concert in Raleigh. Registration opens August 1st, 2009

“This will be the place to meet and hear people long connected to U2 and to covering their career,” says organizer Scott Calhoun, English professor and a U2 academician. The whole weekend is for exploring the music, work and influence of U2.

Speakers include Rolling Stone contributing editor (and Ph.D) Anthony DeCurtis, the UK’s Telegraph columnist (and schoolmate of the band members) Neil McCormick, Ugandan AIDS activist Agnes Nyamawaro, who has worked with Bono’s ONE Campaign, and Matt McGee, founder of @U2 (www.atu2.com) and author ofU2-A Diary. Attendees will also hear from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Curator Jim Henke via video.

An international line-up of paper presenters will talk about topics ranging from “U2 and the Politics of Irony” to “Bono Versus Nick Cave on Jesus” and “U2: An Elevated Brand,” as well as other topics addressing U2’s influence in rock history, the entertainment industry, and on humanitarian and social justice initiatives.

“We know U2’s appeal is without borders and everyone is welcome. Whether you come in tweed or leather, do vinyl or download, you’ll connect with people who want to talk about U2,” Calhoun promises.

Host school North Carolina Central University (NCCU) will kick off its centennial celebration this fall. Rich in history, NCCU is the nation’s first state supported liberal arts college founded for African Americans. The late historian John Hope Franklin once taught at NCCU and jazz great Branford Marsalis is currently an artist-in-residence.

Located in the Research Triangle and situated between Raleigh and Chapel Hill, Durham is a vibrant city for education, arts and culture, and was recently named by Forbes as the #3 “Best Place for Business” and by U. S. News & World Report as the #5 “Best Places to Live” in the United States.

“Durham has been well-served for a long time by NCCU’s efforts to educate students and the community through the arts and music,” Calhoun said. “In that respect, the institution closely parallels U2’s history which has been to create music that inspires everyone and honors the overlooked, the oppressed and the champions of freedom for all peoples, from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to Central America’s Mothers of the Disappeared, and more recently Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. We’re thrilled we can bring the conference to Durham and be on their campus for the weekend.”

Register for U2: The Hype and the Feedback or find out more at www.U2conference.com.

CONTACT: SCOTT CALHOUN, CONFERENCE DIRECTOR | 937-766-3214 | PRESS@U2CONFERENCE.COM

If you are coming to our blog first to get the news, here’s some of our recent activity.  (And if you aren’t following us on twitter or getting our email alerts, why not? )

1. We posted information about our host hotel in Durham and a second hotel option here.

2. We’ve created a free-to-join YahooGroup for connecting with others who are coming to the conference to talk about sharing a hotel room and transportation. Join this group here. (You’ll need to create a free Yahoo account if you don’t yet have one.)

3. We’ve got maps!

4. We’ll post and email our first official press release in a few days.  Stay tuned.

5. If you are interested in being a conference sponsor, start here.

6. Have you seen our list of forty accepted paper presentations? You can view it at the bottom of our schedule page or get to a PDF from the schedule page.

7. Registration opens August 1.  We’re working every day to finalize the program and set the price. You will have the option of paying via PayPal, by credit card, or by check.  Keep and eye on our registration page here.

8. We’re asking if you would be interested in buying a ticket for a chartered bus ride to and from the host hotel to the U2 concert, Saturday, Oct. 3, at Carter-Finley stadium in Raleigh.  Nothing definite yet, but we’d love to hear a comment if this interests you. If we offer this, the bus will take you there and back in style, with fans and with fun!  The bus won’t leave until later in the afternoon (sorry GA ticket holders who want to be falling at the bands’ feet) and will make the 30 minute trip to get you there in plenty of time to hear the opening act (or do whatever your pre-concert ritual is).

Cheers,

The Hype and The Feedback Team

We are pleased to announce The Hype and The Feedback: A Conference Exploring the Music, Work and Influence of U2 will be hosted by the H. M. Michaux School of Education at North Carolina Central University in Durham, from October 2 - 4, 2009.

North Carolina Central is the nation’s first public liberal arts college founded for African-Americans.

Our U2 conference staff wishes to thank Chancellor Charles Nelms for his vision and leadership, as well as the NCCU community and the city of Durham for extending this invitation to have the first ever academic conference about U2.

Our thanks also go to the great people with the DurhamCares organization for their work in facilitating The Hype and The Feedback coming to Durham.

Conference events will start Friday evening, Oct. 2, and will conclude on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 4.

Please watch our conference website for many more updates during the rest of this month: more about the conference program; more about NCCU; more about Durham; and more about the Raleigh-Durham area. If you have not signed up for email alerts, you can do so here.

Some notices:

• Registration: We plan to open registration in July.  Registration will be handled through our registration page and we anticipate offering conference tickets at levels from $90 - $200.  Registration will close when we have reached capacity.

• Lodging: We are securing a range of hotel options at a U2 Conference discount rate for the nights of Oct. 1 - 4. Rates will range from $70 - $110 a night. Registrants should make lodging arrangements on their own.  Information on the conference hotels will be here later this month.

• Transportation: Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) serves the area and is about 15 miles from Durham.  Information on transportation suggestions from the airport to Durham and for getting around in the area will be here later this month.

• Program: A tentative schedule for the program is here, with a list of the accepted paper presentations here.  We are working on arranging the papers into panel sessions.  Please keep an eye on the program schedule as it will have regular updates to it.

• U2’s concert in Raleigh: U2’s 360° Tour plays at the Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, Saturday evening, Oct. 3, starting at 7:00 p.m.  Their concert date falls right in the middle of our conference weekend.  We will conclude Saturday’s program by 4:00 p.m. to allow time to get to the show. (Raleigh is about 25 miles from Durham.  You can view a map here.) Then, when we re-convene Sunday morning we should have even more to talk about! Conference registration DOES NOT include a ticket to U2’s concert.  Tickets are still available here.

Thank you to everyone who has been with us for many months now.  We appreciate your patience, your encouragement and your enthusiasm for the conference.  Thanks again to the H. M. Michaux School of Education at North Carolina Central University.

We look forward to seeing you in Durham!

Questions? Please use our contact form.

Dear Oxford: We regret to say we won’t be having the first U2 conference in your city, but you all know how special a place you have and we hope the world comes to you someday to experience your culture, warmth and hospitality.  (We just hope the whole world doesn’t come to you all at once. Maybe spread it out over a few weekends?!)

We are now all fans of Oxford and your love of music, especially the music of U2, has brought us together.  That, and one incredible fan of U2 and Oxford named Misty Phillips.  Thank you, Misty, for all the help.  You know how much you’ve done and we know that Oxford should be grateful to have you.

Thanks also to Wayne Andrews with The Powerhouse and the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, Scott at Rooster’s, Proud Larry’s, The Lyric Theatre, Square Books, Off Square Books, Square Books Jr., Port Kaigler at Ole Miss, Doug at The AMP, Chico at Main Squeeze (killer wheatgrass!), Laura and the Oak Hill Stables Bed & Breakfast (it’s paradise, with a lot of friendly horses), George with 47 Million Reasons, Bill Russell at the L. Q. C. Lamar House, and last, but not least, Stephen, Lucas and Miriam.

Thank you all for your passionate support and for treating our staff with love and respect.  We’re looking forward to seeing you at the conference and, who knows, maybe a concert!

Scott Calhoun and the U2 Conference Staff