Watch Michael Stipe join members of The National for R.E.M.’s ‘E-Bow The Letter’

R. E. M.‘s Michael Stipe joined members of The National to perform ‘E-Bow The Letter’ at a special concert in France last night (October 17) – watch footage below.

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O cantor apareceu ao lado de Matt Berninger, da The National, e dos irmãos gêmeos Aaron e Bryce Dessner no local Atabal em Biarritz, como parte do festival AB100 que celebra os 50 anos de aniversário dos irmãos.

The two-day event is taking place across Biarritz and the nearby Spanish city of San Sebastián, bringing together friends and collaborators of the Dessners for a series of special performances.

Saturday’s opening concert, billed as ‘Mixtape’, saw the brothers joined by a rotating cast of musicians, including Ben Howard, Kevin Morby and Jon Hopkins.

Stipe e Berninger se juntaram para cantar ‘E-Bow The Letter’, originalmente lançada como o single principal do álbum de 1996 do R. E. M., ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’.

A gravação original contou com vocais convidados de Patti Smith.

Before they began the song, Stipe gifted handmade sculptures to both Dessner brothers, before Berninger was welcomed to the stage and he jokingly handed out pieces of chewing gum as gifts.

Stipe introduced the song by explaining that R. E. M. wrote it during a stay in San Sebastián in 1995, while Aaron Dessner said it was a song The National “begged” them to play when they opened for the band in 2008.

The National have a long history with Stipe and R. E. M., having supported the latter on their North American tour in 2008, alongside Modest Mouse.

Stipe também trabalhou diretamente com Aaron Dessner, e os dois lançaram o single colaborativo ‘No Time For Love Like Now’ em junho de 2020.

The song was released under Dessner’s Big Red Machine project, with orchestration provided by Bryce. At the time, Aaron described Stipe as “a great hero and friend to me (and The National)”, adding that he had never imagined they would end up writing songs together.

The pair also performed the track together on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon later that month.

Meanwhile, The National are set to play their first full-band concert since 2024 tonight (October 18), headlining the closing night of AB100 at the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián.

Apresentado como ‘The National And Friends’, a apresentação será o único show com banda completa de 2026 e espera-se que inclua mais convidados especiais e colaboradores.

The band’s most recent studio album was 2023’s ‘Laugh Track’, which followed ‘First Two Pages Of Frankenstein’ earlier that year.

Stipe, enquanto isso, continua trabalhando em seu tão esperado álbum solo de estreia. Em julho, ele compartilhou a faixa de spoken word ‘Hum Desiderata’, após uma aparição em The Late Show With Stephen Colbert em abril, onde interpretou a canção ainda não ouvida ‘The Rest Of Ever’.

He has previously said he hopes to release the record before the end of 2026, having admitted that completing it has taken longer than expected.

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