REM singer endorses Barack Obama

R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe publicly endorsed Barack Obama for president during the band's performance at the Langerado Festival in Florida on Saturday night (March 8th), according to the Palm Beach Post. The concert was R.E.M.'s first live appearance of 2008 and was in support of the upcoming release of the group's new album, Accelerate. Wearing an Obama T-shirt, Stipe said he wanted to vote for candidates who would "give me hope" rather than "tell me what to fear." Stipe later took the shirt off and threw it into the audience, although he claimed that the person who caught it was a "member of the press" and asked him or her to give it to a fan.

The show mixed past hits like "Man on the Moon" and "Fall On Me" with brand new tunes such as "Horse to Water," "Supernatural Super Serious" and "I'm Gonna DJ."

Also performing earlier in the evening was Ben Folds and Matisyahu.

Accelerate will be released on April 1st. Beginning on March 24th, the album will be streamed in its entirety through the iLike social networking application, allowing fans at communities such as Facebook and iTunes to freely share it with others.

R.E.M. will kick off a full North American tour on May 23rd in Burnaby, British Columbia.
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