As the prospect of another lockdown looms, we’re all left desperate to find media to consume when our brains our too microwaved to sit through a movie and the idea of reading a book feels like an impossible task. R.E.M. have offered a cure to the pangs of boredom — the seminal band will rebroadcast their iconic 1999 Glastonbury Festival performance.

For the first time ever, the band will upload the concert to stream on their YouTube page 72 hours following its initial premiere at 3 p.m. EST on Thursday, August 6th.

The performance took place on June 25th, 1999 on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage. The headlining set followed performances by Bush, Blondie and Hole.

“Hole did such a great set, I was like — I’ve got to ramp this up, I’ve got to be great,” Michael Stipe said in a statement. “I think it was maybe a moment for R.E.M. and the U.K. where we had kind of been forgotten or pushed aside by younger bands, and that was a particular moment at Glastonbury where I think we pulled ourselves back to the front of the line and actually proved, this is what we’re capable of. It was a great show for us!”

The set saw the band perform a trove of their most beloved hits including, ‘Everybody Hurts’, ‘Losing My Religion’, ‘The One I Love’, ‘Man on the Moon’, and ‘It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).’

Stipe mused that the band, “felt triumphant every time we played Glastonbury.” Acknowledging that, “The band really stepped up. It’s such a beloved and legendary event that, y’know, whatever stars are aligned for us personally and as a group; we managed to show the best of ourselves at each of the shows we played there.”

Alongside the Artist Rights Alliance, artists such as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Sia, Lorde, R.E.M., Green Day, Pearl Jam, Blondie, B-52’s, Steven Tyler, and Elvis Costello (many of whom have already expressed annoyance with President Trump using their music) are urging America’s major political party committees to “establish clear policies requiring campaigns to seek consent” of the desired tune-makers before hitting play on their songs.

Love Classic Rock?

Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more

Earlier this week, R.E.M. signed an open letter, alongside numerous music contemporaries, demanding that politicians seek clearance on the music they play at campaign rallies and other public events.

“As artists, activists and citizens, we ask you to pledge that all candidates you support will seek consent from featured recording artists and songwriters before using their music in campaign and political settings,” their statement, written in partnership with the Artist Rights Alliance reads. “This is the only way to effectively protect your candidates from legal risk, unnecessary public controversy and the moral quagmire that comes from falsely claiming or implying an artist’s support or distorting an artists’ expression in such a high stakes public way.”

R.E.M. – Live at Glastonbury Festival, 1999:

YouTube VideoPlay

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine