R.E.M.

MICHAEL SHANNONandJASON NARDUCYreveal all about theirFables…tour. “It’s not a cover band,” insists superfan Michael Stipe. “It’s much greater than that!”

Main photo by KAREN RYAN

ON a chilly Thursday night on February 27, Michael Stipe took the stage at the 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia. Peter Buck was already there playing guitar and Stipe just wanted to sing backup on “Pretty Persuasion” with arguably the best tribute band in the world right now, featuring such R.E.M. superfans as Oscar-nominated actor Michael Shannon, veteran indie guitarist Jason Narducy and members of The Mountain Goats, Wilco and Poi Dog Pondering. “I’m no dipshit,” says Shannon. “I know people would rather watch Michael Stipe than me, so I gave him the floor. He didn’t disappoint.”

Mike Mills jumped up to sing along and halfway through the Reckoning track, guitarist Dag Juhlin spotted Bill Berry at the side of the stage. He motioned manically for him to get up there and Berry happily obliged. It wasn’t a reunion necessarily, but it was certainly an event. “The 40 Watt exploded,” says Narducy. “We were all looking at each other in disbelief. Everybody got choked up.”

BERTIS DOWNS

Stipe, Berry, Mills and Buck join Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy on stage at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA, February 27, 2025

Word spread fast around Athens and the following night the crowd at the 40 Watt was electric with anticipation. “I heard all about the festivities from the night before and I was kicking myself for missing it,” says Kevin Cregge, an R.E.M. fan and local musician. “I wondered if something might happen on Friday, but then it got pretty late into the night. I was literally settling my tab at the bar when they got up to do ‘Pretty Persuasion’. The place went nuts. When I was walking home, I felt like I was floating. Now I can say I’ve seen R.E.M.”