It’s been a while since the members of R.E.M. have been out together publicly, but that all changed on Thursday, February 8.
Photos and videos posted to social media show Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Bill Berry and Peter Buck at the 40 Watt Club in their home city of Athens, Georgia, where they made a surprise appearance at a concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s debut album, Murmur.
The show was part of actor Michael Shannon and musician Jason Narducy‘s tour, in which they play Murmur in full along with other R.E.M. tracks. According to Stereogum, Buck, Berry and Mills joined Shannon and Narducy for various songs.
Stipe didn’t perform, but he did come out onstage to address the crowd. “Speaking on behalf of Bill and Mike and Peter, we are so f***** thrilled to be here tonight,” he said, prompting cheers from the crowd.
This isn’t the first time members of R.E.M. turned up at the 40 Watt Club for a celebration of one of their albums. In 2022, Mills and Buck were surprise guests at a concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s debut EP, Chronic Town.
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