R.E.M. Never Really Retired

Its members have kept busy in new bands, especially guitarist Peter Buck

Craig Rosen,

AARP

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Published February 02, 2026

a collage with the former members of r e m playing instruments

AARP (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images; Taylor Hill/Getty Images; Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

After a three-decade run that included such hits as “Losing My Religion,” “Man on the Moon” and “The One I Love,” popular rock band R.E.M. split in 2011. But its members never really retired.

Guitarist Peter Buck, 69, has been especially busy since then, playing in numerous acts. And bassist Mike Mills, 67, recently formed a supergroup called Howl Owl Howl with Darius Rucker from Hootie & the Blowfish and Steve Gorman from the Black Crowes.

“When the band broke up, I had to try to figure out who I was,” Mills told AARP. “Am I still Mike Mills of R.E.M., or does that not apply anymore? I realized I had a choice. I could goof off and play golf for the rest of my life and probably enjoy that, or I could play music and see what opportunities come along. As soon as I decided I was going to keep playing, the opportunities came along.”

A look at the band members’ post-breakup music projects:

Peter Buck (and sometimes Mike Mills)

The Minus Five

This prolific band — with 15 albums so far — started as an R.E.M. side project but continued after the band’s breakup. Buck is a mainstay in the lineup, along with singer-guitarist Scott McCaughey (a late-period R.E.M. touring sideman). Mills has played with the band, but not regularly. Beyond that, its membership has been in flux for over 30 years.

Other members: There have been a lot. Some notables have included Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Colin Meloy of the Decemberists.

Latest release: Oar On, Penelope! (2025)

The Baseball Project

This band — which writes and performs songs about America’s pastime — started as an R.E.M. side project and continued after the band’s breakup. Buck played bass on the band’s 2008 debut, Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails. When Buck was unavailable for an early tour of Spain, Mills pinch-hit and later became a permanent member, with both appearing on subsequent albums and tours.

Other members: McCaughey, singer-guitarist Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate, and his wife, Linda Pitmon of Zuzu Pedals, on drums

Latest release: Grand Salami Time (2023)

More Peter Buck

Drink the Sea

Buck’s latest project is a collaboration with other indie rockers who make trippy, atmospheric music. It debuted with a bang, releasing two self-titled albums in 2025, then hitting the road, including a tour this winter.

Other members: Former Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, Eleven front man Alain Johannes and British multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood

Latest releases: Drink the Sea I and Drink the Sea II (both 2025)

Luke Haines & Peter Buck

The front man of ’90s British band the Auteurs collaborates with Buck in this combo, which has put out three albums in the 2020s. The music combines Haines’ sly, sardonic wit with Buck’s melodicism.

Other members: The McCaughey-Pitmon rhythm section

Latest release: Going Down to the River … to Blow My Mind (2025)

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Arthur Buck

Buck joined forces with singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur for a 2018 self-titled album. The follow-up was delayed for a few years but eventually came out in October 2025. The music takes Arthur’s confessional solo work and revvs it up several notches with Buck and others.

Other members: The McCaughey-Pitmon rhythm section

Latest release: Arthur Buck 2 (2025)

The Silverlites

For this all-star band, Buck and Arthur joined forces with a different Black Crowe, guitarist Rich Robinson. It’s a mostly acoustic affair with some tasteful electric licks thrown in.

Other members: Drummer Martin

Latest release: The Silverlites (2024)

The No Ones

Over two albums this quartet has put out quirky pop and jangly rock with a perhaps Scandinavian bent.

Other members: McCaughey appears again. Also Norwegian musicians Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen and Frode Strømstad of the band I Was a King.

Latest release: My Best Evil Friend (2023)

Filthy Friends

This band features a powerful voice in former Sleater-Kinney singer-guitarist Corin Tucker. The music on their two albums ranges from anxious punk to R.E.M.-esque folk-rock.

Other members: The McCaughey-Pitmon rhythm section, plus Young Fresh Fellows and Fastbacks guitarist Kurt Bloch.

Latest release: Emerald Valley (2019)

Tired Pony

Buck went alt-country with this all-star combo, which has released two albums.

Other members: Snow Patrol front man Gary Lightbody, McCaughey and late-period R.E.M. producer Jacknife Lee.

Latest release: The Ghost of the Mountain (2013)

Solo work

After R.E.M.’s split, Buck initially went the solo route, releasing three albums, but only on vinyl (no CDs, no MP3s, no streaming).

Latest release: Warzone Earth (2015)

More Mike Mills

Howl Owl Howl

Mills’ latest project, an all-star trio of musicians with Southern roots, released an Ariana Grande–inspired debut single, “My Cologne,” in October, and followed it with a short tour. The band sounds like a combination of Hootie & the Blowfish and R.E.M., with a little Black Crowes thrown in.

Other members: Former Hootie front man and solo country star Darius Rucker and former Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman

Latest release: An album is expected this year.

Mike Mills & Robert McDuffie

Mills teamed with childhood friend and violinist McDuffie and went the classical route for an album and some concerts. In addition to new compositions by Mills and composer-producer David Mallamud, the set includes a version of R.E.M.’s classic “Nightswimming.”

Latest release: Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra (2016)

The Big Star Quintet

In 2010 Mills began appearing at tribute shows to Big Star, the critically acclaimed 1970s cult band fronted by Alex Chilton. In 2024, when drummer Jody Stephens, Big Star’s sole surviving original member, assembled a version of the band to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its second album, Radio City, Mills was drafted for the tour.

Other members: Wilco’s Pat Sansone, the Posies’ Jon Auer and Chris Stamey of the dB’s

Michael Stipe

Solo work

R.E.M.’s best-known member has been slow to return to the music spotlight. He has released the solo tracks “Your Capricious Soul” (2019), “Drive to the Ocean” (2020) and “No Time for Love Like Now” (2020), backed by Aaron Dessner of the National and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Stipe also covered the Velvet Underground and Nico’s “Sunday Morning” on a 2021 tribute album, but his long-in-the-works reported solo album has yet to materialize. His solo work so far has a more electronic flavor than his records with R.E.M.

Bill Berry

The Bad Ends

Original R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry, who retired from the band in 1997 after suffering a brain aneurysm while on tour, returned to music in 2023 with this guitar-driven group featuring singer-guitarist Mike Mantione of Five Eight. The band released an Americana-leaning album and played a few shows in Athens and Atlanta but didn’t do a full tour.

Latest release: The Power and the Glory (2023)

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Craig Rosen is a contributing writer who often covers entertainment. His work has appeared in Billboard, Men’s Health and Rolling Stone magazines. He is the author of R.E.M Inside Out: The Story Behind Every Song and the Billboard Book of Number One Albums.

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