Michael Stipe of R.E.M. teamed up with members of The National to perform the track “E‑Bow The Letter” at a special concert in France on October 17. Footage of the performance is available below.
Stipe appeared on stage with The National’s frontman Matt Berninger and twin brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner at the Atabal venue in Biarritz, as part of the AB100 festival celebrating the brothers’ 50th birthdays.
The two‑day AB100 festival spans Biarritz and the neighboring Spanish city of San Sebastián, gathering the Dessners’ friends and collaborators for a series of special performances.
Saturday’s opening concert, titled “Mixtape,” featured the Dessner brothers alongside a rotating lineup of artists such as Ben Howard, Kevin Morby and Jon Hopkins.
Stipe and Berninger performed the song, which originally appeared as the lead single from R.E.M.’s 1996 album *New Adventures In Hi‑Fi*. The original recording included guest vocals by Patti Smith.
Prior to the performance, Stipe presented handmade sculptures to both Dessner brothers. Berninger then took the stage, humorously handing out pieces of chewing gum as gifts.
Stipe explained that R.E.M. wrote the song during a 1995 stay in San Sebastián, while Aaron Dessner noted that The National had “begged” the band to play it when they opened in 2008.
Check out the footage below:
The National share a long history with Stipe and R.E.M.; the group opened for the latter on their 2008 North American tour, alongside Modest Mouse.
Stipe has also collaborated directly with Aaron Dessner, releasing the single “No Time For Love Like Now” in June 2020 under Dessner’s Big Red Machine project.
The track, released under Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine project, features orchestration by Bryce Dessner. In discussing the collaboration, Aaron called Stipe “a great hero and friend to me (and The National),” noting that he never imagined they would co‑write songs.
Stipe and Dessner also performed the song together on *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon* later that month.
“E‑Bow The Letter” has become a staple of Stipe’s live collaborations; Radiohead’s Thom Yorke has joined R.E.M. for performances, assuming Patti Smith’s vocal part, at events such as the 1998 Tibetan Freedom Concert and a secret 2004 London church show.
The National will headline the AB100 festival’s closing night on October 18 at the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián, marking their first full‑band concert since 2024.
The show, titled “The National and Friends,” will be the band’s sole full‑band concert of 2026 and is expected to feature additional special guests and collaborators.
<p Their most recent studio album, Laugh Track (2023), followed the earlier release First Two Pages of Frankenstein that same year.
Stipe continues to work on his long‑awaited debut solo album. In July he released the spoken‑word track “Hum Desiderata,” following an April appearance on *The Late Show With Stephen Colbert*, where he premiered the previously unheard song “The Rest Of Ever.”
He has indicated a target release before the end of 2026, acknowledging that the project has taken longer than anticipated.
