lonelyplanet.com
Michael Stipe is returning to the stage this fall in NYC
Michael Stipe doesn’t make many public appearances these days—a film screening here, a spring gala there—and performances are even fewer and further between. Lately, though, the former R.E.M. frontman has been hinting at a return to the spotlight as a solo artist, debuting three new songs in May; reportedly, there’s more where that came from. (But fans of the seminal band shouldn’t get their hopes up: An R.E.M. reunion “will never happen,” he told the Guardian back in April.)