U2 Conference: Australia Edition 2019

To coincide with U2's 'Joshua Tree' Tour, the U2 Conference will be held down under for the first time, featuring exclusive film screenings, presentations and interactive activities. The U2 Conference Australian Edition 2019: Image + Experience brings together fans, academics and the music industry to talk about and share insights into the biggest rock band on the planet.

Special guest, Australian filmmaker Richard Lowenstein, made the rarely seen U2 documentary 'U2 Lovetown' in 1989 when the band played 27 shows in Australia on their 'Lovetown' tour with BB King. He also produced videos for 'Angel of Harlem' and 'Desire' from U2's 'Rattle and Hum' album and Bono was the first person he interviewed when he made the new movie, 'Mystify Michael Hutchence'. The U2 conference will celebrate the connection between U2 and Michael Hutchence with a special screening of 'Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence'.

Conference Organiser, Naomi Dinnen said:

"This is a hugely exciting event for U2 fans and anyone interested in researching popular music and culture. The U2 Conference has never been held in Australia before, and it’s never been held in the city where U2 are playing the next night, and there are fans and academics from all over the world coming to Sydney for the experience.

"The title of the conference 'Image + Experience' is a play on the name of the album. 'Songs of Innocence' which U2 famously gave to all iTunes users for free in 2014 whether they wanted it or not."

This will also be the first time the U2 Conference has been held at a recording complex, with the whole even being held at the iconic Studios 301 in Alexandria. Fans will be treated to an exclusive tour of the facilities and get to see how U2 creates its sound with live equipment demonstrations.

The U2 Conference was established by Scott Calhoun, author and Professor of English, Cedarville University, Ohio, USA. Scott has produced three instalments of the U2 Conference: in 2009 at North Carolina Central University; 2013 in collaboration with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio; and 2018 at Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Special Guest:

'Looking Back on Lovetown' with Richard Lowenstein, director of 'U2: LoveTown', U2 music videos and the new feature film 'Mystify: Michael Hutchence'.

Featured Presenters:

'Only Love Can Leave Such A Mark: The Image and Experience of U2 Fan Tattoos'
Beth Nabi, Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Digital Media at the University of North Florida. Since creating the U2 Tattoo Project in 2015, Beth has traveled to 10 countries and documented over 300 fan tattoos in person, with another 300 online submissions from U2 fans all over the world.

'Looking for a Sound That's Gonna Drown Out the World': The Tech-Processual Construction of U2's Mofo'
Samantha Bennett, Associate Professor of Music, ANU, sound recordist, guitarist and author of Modern Records, Maverick Methods (Bloomsbury Academic) and Peepshow, a 33 1/3 series edition on the album by Siouxsie and the Banshees (Bloomsbury Academic).

'London, Belfast, Sydney and Beyond: Does U2's Touring Make It The Biggest Band In The World?'
André Brett is the Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow in history at the University of Wollongong. He is known in U2 fan circles as Axver (or Ax), the setlistorian of the U2gigs.com concert database.