Legendary Athens, GA alternative rockers R.E.M. stunned fans on September 21, 2011 when they announced their breakup, effective immediately. There would be no final show or tour, it was done. Since then, the members have been quiet. Michael Stipe joined Coldplay’s Chris Martin on stage at the 12/12/12 concert at Madison Square Garden for a performance of “Losing My Religion,” but other than that, it was quiet on the R.E.M. front. Until last night.

Athens, GA’s 40 Watt Club played host to the first inkling of a potential R.E.M. reunion as Mike Mills, Bill Berry and Peter Buck shared the stage for a performance of R.E.M.’s 1984 hit “Don’t Go Back To Rockville.” Berry, who left the band in 1997 following an on-stage collapse from a ruptured brain aneurysm in 1995, hadn’t performed with the original R.E.M. members since their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

The reunion rumors will certainly pick up from here, but it appears, as long as Stipe resists, those efforts will be futile. Still, it is nice to see some classic rockers on stage again, albeit briefly.