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R.E.M. Stage Surprise Reunion at Athens’ 40 Watt Club For Spirited Run Through ‘Pretty Persuasion’

R.E.M.'s 4 original members reunited for a surprise run through 'Pretty Persuasion' on Thursday (Feb. 27) at their hometown 40 Watt Club; watch clip.

Not only did Stipe take the stage with former bandmates guitarist Peter Buck, bassist/singer Mike Mills and long-retired drummer Bill Berry on tambourine, but they did it at the 40 Watt Club, the legendary 500-capacity venue in their hometown of Athens, Georgia that has been the launching pad for dozens of local bands and a favorite haunt for R.E.M.’s members over the years. It was only the second time that Berry has performed alongside his former bandmates since leaving the group in 1997 citing a desire to quit touring after suffering a brain aneurysm on stage in Switzerland in 1995. Though the 40 Watt is in a different spot now, it has long been an incubator for the local music scene, hosting a number of prominent hometown indie bands (Pylon, Love Tractor, Gudalcanal Diary, Drive-By Truckers, B-52s, Widespread Panic, Vic Chesnutt) over the years, as well as acts that went on to global stardom that popped in for early gigs or serious underplay shows, including Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, as well as Iggy Pop, Run-DMC and Snoop Dogg, among countless others.

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