U2 played NPR’s Tiny Desk in a special performance

U2 lead singer Bono and the band’s guitarist The Edge stopped by NPR’s offices for a special stripped down tiny desk performance.

The duo kicked off the set with their 2000 hit “Beautiful Day.” They also dedicated “Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of”, also from their album, Everything you can’t leave behindto the late INXS singer Michael Hutchence.

Bono and The Edge also brought in the choir from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, who added emotional undertones to the songs with their harmonies. The camera panned frequently to the students standing to one side in the studio crowd. After every song, the audience cheered happily – and there was just great energy all around.

They also performed “In A Little While” before presenting the Hutchence tribute.

“All those years of trying to avoid a desk job,” joked The Edge. “I board.”

“This song is actually a song about friendship. Edge and I talked earlier about how we’ve become a little more intolerant as we’ve gotten older from our friends. I made the mistake of categorizing my friends,” added Bono. “You should never do that. With the really difficult ones, you have to be careful what you say around them.”

Finally, U2 finished the sentence with “Walk On.”

Check out U2’s Tiny Desk performance above.