R.E.M. made a surprise appearance yet again (February 27) during a tribute gig celebrating their classic debut album ‘Murmur’.
All four members of the band – Michael Stipe, Bill Berry, Peter Buck and Mike Mills – made an unexpected return to the 40 Watt Club venue in their home city of Athens, Georgia as part of actor Michael Shannon and musician Jason Narducy’s current tour – which sees the pair play 1983’s ‘Murmur’ in full along with a handful of their favourite R.E.M. songs.
It comes just over a year after the band did the same thing in 2024. Unlike their last appearance though the R.E.M. actually all performed together last night on ‘Pretty Persuasion’ with the duo. You can view footage below.
Throughout the night, various members of the band also helped out on The Velvet Underground covers ‘Femme Fatale’ and ‘There She Goes Again’ with Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye. Comedian Dave Hill also joined the band on a slow version of Aerosmith’s ‘Toys In The Attic’ at the close.
