The Strokes closed out their Coachella weekend two set with a politically charged montage calling out the CIA and the United States government. Watch below.
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Performing on the mainstage last night (April 18) ahead of Justin Bieber‘s headline slot, the band took the moment to make a statement about the conflicts unfolding across the world.
While ending their set with their 2016 track ‘Oblivius’, a visual display played on the screen behind them, incorporating imagery of global leaders with text explaining various historical events.
The slideshow included images of Omar Torrijos, Jacobo Árbenz and Jaime Roldós Aguilera, all described by the band as leaders allegedly overthrown by the CIA.
An image of Martin Luther King Jr. also appeared, alongside the on-screen statement “US Govt found guilty of his murder in civil trial.”
They also showed footage of rubble in Iran, alongside the text “over 30 universities destroyed in Iran,” and a clip of the “last university in Gaza” being blown up by an air missile.
The screen then faded to black, and the band walked off stage. You can watch the full montage below.
This takes courage…
The Strokes closed their Coachella set flashing images of the governments the CIA has overthrown, the leaders the US has assassinated including MLK 👀, the war crimes the US is committing in Iran, and the genocide Israel is committing in occupied Palestine. pic.twitter.com/9HnvgX1aUh
— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) April 19, 2026
For those who missed it: this was the moment The Strokes ensured they’ll never set foot in Coachella again! I'm so proud of them #Strokeschella pic.twitter.com/ue1UIikixU
— Zaf (@Buenozaf) April 19, 2026
the strokes encore for coachella 2026 weekend 2 pic.twitter.com/xfCD8fwH5d
— ًً (@MASOCHlSTlC) April 19, 2026
It followed last week’s performance, which also included some political commentary, with frontman Julian Casablancas making a wry dig at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos by sporting a t-shirt on stage that mimicked the Amazon logo, but with the word “crime” pasted in place of the company’s name.
He also made reference to the news that the US government plans to automatically register men aged 18-25 as eligible for a military draft, as opposed to the current model of self-registration.
“You guys excited about the draft?” he said. “Oh wait no, not the NFL draft, I’m talking about in six months, I think everyone’s going to have to register who’s eligible for the military. You guys excited?!”
The New York indie rock legends are soon to release their new album ‘Reality Awaits‘, their first album in six years. The record – recorded in Costa Rica with producer Rick Rubin and finished in a number of global locations – will arrive June 26 via Cult Records/RCA Records, and is available to pre-order here.
To mark the occasion, The Strokes announced a whopping world tour visiting the UK, North America, Europe and Japan. It will be their first full tour in the UK and Ireland in over 20 years, and will see them stop by London’s O2, Newcastle’s Utilita Arena, Manchester’s Co-op Live and Dublin’s 3Arena in October.
Thundercat, Cage the Elephant, Hamilton Leithauser, Fat White Family, Alex Cameron and ÖLÜM will support select dates across the world tour.
So far, The Strokes have released their first single from ‘Reality Awaits’, ‘Going Shopping‘. The song was posted to fans on cassette first, leading fans to share bootlegs online before the band debuted the song live in San Francisco.
In our three-star review of the track, NME wrote: “Although ‘Going Shopping’ doesn’t feel bold, it does avoid playing anything safe. You couldn’t definitively place its sound on any of The Strokes’ previous six albums, but the lack of spirit and tenacity – save for a guitar solo at the end – is noticeable. “If you’re better than me you don’t have to judge me,” signs off Casablancas, with an imaginary raised eyebrow. But perhaps even he would admit that The Strokes are better than this.”
Previously, Albert Hammond Jr has stated that the album would have a “looser” feel, given their recording location in Costa Rica. “I think the environment can affect you, sure; sometimes it might come out in a song or a part,” he told The Shaky Experience podcast in 2023. “And because you know that, you’ll be like, ‘Oh, it feels like this’. Maybe it adds to it.
“But I think if there’s any vibe that comes from an environment like that, it’s that the songs might be a little looser in a sense of our style.”