Aaron and Bryce Dessner, the twin brothers and musical architects of The National, marked their milestone 50th birthdays with a star studded, two day destination celebration called AB100. Held on October 17th and 18th, 2026, the event stretched across the Basque region and two countries, beginning in Biarritz, France, and ending across the border in San Sebastián, Spain. It brought together indie rock royalty, close collaborators, and visual artists for performances that were as personal as they were rare.

Biarritz: A Mixtape and a Surprise From Michael Stipe

The celebration opened on Saturday, October 17th, at Atabal in Biarritz, where the evening worked like a rotating live mixtape with the twins serving as the house band for their guests. Basque singer Eñaut Elorrieta performed covers of “Otsaila” and “Aira Nazazu” and then joined the brothers for The National’s “About Today.” Anaïs Mitchell teamed up with them for the live debut of the Big Red Machine song “Latter Days” and followed it with her own “Without You,” while Ragnar Kjartansson stepped up for “Moon Hills of Tomorrow” and “No Tomorrow.” Irish duo Ye Vagabonds offered “Young Again” and “Long Grass,” and Mina Tindle sang “Taranta” and “Not Losing.”

Ben Howard played “Days of Lantana” and the Big Red Machine song “June’s a River,” and he debuted an unreleased new song called “Facing The Day.” Pomme delivered live covers of “je sais pas danser” and “soleil soleil.” Kevin Morby was also part of the lineup. Then came the night’s biggest surprise, Michael Stipe. The R.E.M. frontman first presented the twins with small sculptures he had made for them before stepping up to the microphone.

Alongside The National’s Matt Berninger, Stipe sang R.E.M.’s 1996 song “E-Bow the Letter,” something he had not done live since R.E.M.’s final public appearance in 2009, a gap of about seventeen years. The moment carried extra weight for Aaron Dessner, who has said that his band asked R.E.M. to play the song when they opened for them in 2008, without success, and that the song itself was written in San Sebastián. Stipe also performed “No Time for Love Like Now,” his 2020 collaboration with Aaron’s project Big Red Machine.

The crowd then sang “Happy Birthday” to the twins in English, French, and Basque, and Richard Reed Parry led the entire ensemble in a giant sing along of his song “Long Way Back.” Jon Hopkins closed out the night by conducting a special collaborative DJ set.

San Sebastián: The National’s Only 2026 Show

On Sunday, October 18th, the party moved to the Teatro Kursaal in San Sebastián for what was billed as The National’s only live appearance of 2026 and their first show since 2024. Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry joined the band for “Lemonworld” and “Bloodbuzz Ohio.” Later, the Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson came out to revive the spirit of A Lot of Sorrow, their 2013 MoMA PS1 collaboration, in which the band played “Sorrow” for six hours, 105 times in a row. In that spirit the band performed the song twice in a row against the project’s original visuals.

Longtime fans were rewarded with a deep cut, “90-Mile Water Wall” from the 2003 album Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, played for the first time since July 2014. Lisa Hannigan, Kate Stables, and Mina Tindle, who is married to Bryce Dessner, joined for “Oblivions.” Parry’s contributions on “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” from High Violet, and “Lemonworld,” from Boxer, added extra instrumentation and backing vocals.

A Family Finale

The night closed the way a birthday party should, with a crowded stage. An acoustic sing along of “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks” brought out a large group of friends, guest vocalists including Lisa Hannigan and Kate Stables, the twins’ older sister Jessica Dessner, other family members, and the rest of the weekend’s performers to provide the choral backing for the traditional unamplified closer, turning the final song into a communal toast to the twins. The National have no confirmed tour dates at this time, which makes the San Sebastián concert an even rarer piece of the band’s history.