Legendary rock foursome R.E.M. reunited for the first time in 15 years with a live performance of ‘Losing My Religion’ at the Songwriters Hall of Fame gala in New York on Thursday night, June 13th.

The surprise treat came just after a spirited rendition of the band’s cult-classic anthem ‘It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’ from American singer-songwriter Jason Isbell, who went on to say that “R.E.M. was greater than the sum of its parts. R.E.M. moved like a single instrument.”

Arising from Athens, Georgia in 1980, the foursome of Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry have been a generation-defining force within the music industry for decades, with their induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame coming as no shock to fans across the globe.

“Writing songs and having a catalogue of work that we’re all proud of that is out there for the rest of the world for all time is hands-down the most important aspect of what we did,” Stipe said as the band took to the stage. “Second to that is that we managed to do so all those decades and remain friends. And not just friends, dear friends.

“We are four people that very early on decided that we would own our own masters and we would split our royalties and songwriting credits equally,” he continued. “All for one and one for all.”

After reading off a grocery list of thank yous, which extended back to their days at I.R.S. Records and concluded with their longtime manager Bertis Downs, the band took off with an acoustic version of their 1991 classic ‘Losing My Religion’. The foursome’s last public headline was in Mexico City back in 2008.

R.E.M stood alongside Timbaland, Steely Dan, Hillary Lindsey, Dean Pitchford and the late Cindy Walker as the 2024 inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.