Fans craving to hear live U2 music may find what they’re looking for Friday evening when Unforgettable Fire performs at Mauch Chunk Opera House, located on West Broadway, Jim Thorpe.

The tribute band, also known as UF, features George Levesanos, founder, manager and drummer, in the role of Larry Mullen Jr.

Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Levesanos took up music at an early age, jamming with his dad. With dad on violin, mandolin and Greek bouzouki, Levesanos played tambourine and a homemade pair of drumsticks.

Growing up during the ’70s and ’80s, Levesanos heard an array of rock music. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Queen, Pink Floyd and Aerosmith, he said, “had an influence on me in pursuing my drumming career.”

In 1995, Levesanos - who pursued a music career after graduating from high school - started UF in the Bronx with a guitar player he met in the college jazz band.

“I was performing throughout the country in original bands, so when I started college, I had a deep desire to drum again,” he said. “The jazz band wasn’t fulfilling enough. We came up with this crazy idea to start a U2 tribute band, as both of us loved the music of U2.”

At the time, “tribute bands were frowned upon,” Levesanos recalled. “They were viewed as copycats and musicians who couldn’t come up with their own original music. It was challenging to get fans to attend shows and appreciate our craft.“

The tribute-band scene, Levesanos noted, has changed drastically over the years, with shifting perceptions and venues now requesting and welcoming tribute bands. “People can relive their youth and recall fond memories they had listening to their favorite bands, who in many cases are no longer performing.”

UF, with essentially the same lineup since 2004, also includes Anthony Russo on vocals, Mick Normoyle on guitar and Craig Kiell on bass. While skill was key for Levesanos when auditioning band members, the look also carried importance.

“I wanted Unforgettable Fire to not only sound like U2, but to look like them,” he said. “Tony is an amazing singer and the fact that he resembles Bono is the icing on the cake.”

UF - named after the Irish rockers’ 1984 album “The Unforgettable Fire,” which features “Pride (In the Name of Love)” - was shocked in 2015 when two U2 members crashed the band’s performance at New York City club The Cutting Room. As UF performed for long-running U2 fan site atu2.com’s 20th anniversary party, U2 was in town for an eight-night stint at Madison Square Garden.

“Unbeknown to us, The Edge and Adam Clayton had planned a surprise visit,” Levesanos said. “It was a surreal experience, so unbelievable. They almost looked like plastic figures as they approached the stage. My adrenaline kicked in as I had never felt before.”

Before 2015, Levesanos had never met any U2 members. Russo met Bono on a few occasions and The Edge once prior. Post-2015, UF attended U2 shows during the 2017-2019 period and enjoyed up-close seating last fall for Bono’s “Stories of Surrender” book tour at New York City’s Beacon Theatre.

Levesanos, who cited 1987’s “The Joshua Tree” and 1991’s “Achtung Baby” as his favorite albums in U2’s four-plus-decade career, also has favorite songs to perform. He described “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday” - both always on a UF setlist - and “Bullet the Blue Sky” as “powerful songs that have high-energy drumming and are fan favorites.”

Other U2 songs such as “One,” “Desire” and “I Will Follow” also always appear in UF shows, though the band tailors setlists to the type of show, length of show and venue. Some setlist changes, Levesanos said, even occur during a show.

In 2021, UF appeared on the E! network’s “Clash of the Cover Bands.” Stephen “twitch” Boss, who passed away in December, hosted the program.

When E! contacted the band to participate, “we were very hesitant to do it,” Levesanos said. “We weren’t completely comfortable participating in a battle-of-the-bands type of show. We just didn’t feel this was how we wanted to be perceived or presented.”

UF agreed to compete after much convincing by the show’s producers, not to mention having the backing of a major network and Jimmy Fallon as executive producer. While UF does not “necessarily feel that tribute bands should be in competition,” Levesanos said, “I must admit that winning our episode was very satisfying.”

Looking ahead, Levesanos remains open to what the future may bring, “but the important thing is that I continue to do what I love best, and that’s drumming live in front of great fans.”

For more information, visit the Mauch Chunk Opera House website at https://mcohjt.com.