Police in Athens, Ga., this week arrested a former contractor accused of stealing $20,000 in audio gear from the 40 Watt Club, a burglary that had drawn offers of more than $15,000 in rewards from members of R.E.M., Camper Van Beethoven and others. The gear has been recovered, police said.

The legendary 40 Watt Club in Athens, Ga. — an early home base for college-rock mainstays R.E.M., The B-52s, Pylon, Love Tractor, Guadalcanal Diary and more — was burglarized Friday, with dozens of pieces of equipment stolen related to the venue’s PA system. Members of R.E.M. and Cracker have offered rewards.

Filmmakers Michael Santorelli and Laurel Harris recently launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking to raise $50,000 to help fund their documentary “Get Off This: A Film About Music and Perseverance,” which aims to document the life and music of David Lowery, frontman of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker.

Classic college-rock combo Camper Van Beethoven is set to return early next year with ‘La Costa Perdida,’ the band’s second post-reunion album and its first new studio set in more than eight years, a collection bassist Victor Krummenacher says “has elements of vintage Camper along with grown-up Camper.”

This week’s new CDs include ‘The Palace Guards,’ the solo debut from David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, plus ‘White Magic,’ the second album from The Church’s Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy of electronic group All India Radio.

After nearly 30 years as a bandleader — first fronting Camper Van Beethoven, then Cracker, and, more recently, both — David Lowery next month will release his first-ever solo album, ‘The Palace Guards,’ billed as a ‘batch of songs that didn’t quite fit the vibe of Cracker or Camper Van Beethoven.’