The Strokes return home for massive New York City show to sold-out crowd of 40,000

THE STROKES RETURN HOME FOR MASSIVE NEW YORK CITY SHOW TO SOLD-OUT CROWD OF 40,000

APPEARANCES FROM BERNIE SANDERS,  ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, CHRIS SMALLS AND MORE BAND CONTINUES ON TO COMPLETELY SOLD-OUT  EUROPEAN LEG

photo credit: Alive Coverage

October 5, 2026—Capping off a run of massive headline and festival dates across North America, The Strokes returned home for a sold-out show at Flushing Meadows Corona Park to 40,000 fans. Beach House, TV on the Radio and Fcukers joined the stacked lineup to celebrate the band’s long-awaited first New York City headline since 2023. The Strokes performed a career-spanning set of hits and fan favorites from their acclaimed catalogue, closing the show out with “Ode To The Mets” just steps away from the team’s stadium. Celebrating their homecoming, the group also covered “This Is Not” by fellow city staple Blonde Redhead. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made surprise appearances to introduce The Strokes’ set, with Sanders praising the band for “standing up for economic justice, fighting racism, and understanding that healthcare is a human right.”  Later in the performance, labor organizer and Amazon Labor Union co-founder Chris Smalls and comedian and political commentator Lee Camp came on stage to congratulate the band and encourage political engagement. To kick off the day, Julian Casablancas moderated an S.O.S. – Earth Is A Mess live event on-site, with both activists plus political strategist and author Maya Rupert. The Strokes continue on the road with a sold-out European run, starting tomorrow with two nights at London’s O2 and on to Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome, Paris’ Accor Arena, Berlin’s Uber Arena and more. These dates come ahead of shows across South America and Australia, with performances at Sydney’s Centennial Park, Bogotá’s Coliseo Medplus, Primavera Sound Fauna and Primavera Sound São Paulo, among others. The tour celebrates the band’s new album, Reality Awaits—their first in six years—which was released to instant praise from Vogue, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, Stereogum, Consequence, NME, Paste and many more. Reality Awaits awaits. The album was recorded in Costa Rica with the legendary producer Rick Rubin, who the band worked with on 2020’s acclaimed The New Abnormal. Following these first sessions, the band and Rubin continued meet around the globe to finish the album, wherever inspiration struck. The Strokes recently shared the music video for “Going Shopping”—paying homage to Paul Simon’s classic video for “You Can Call Me Al,” with Walton Goggins in Chevy Chase’s iconic role. Goggins was on location for a feature film in the Canary Islands but told the band on a call, “let's go shopping!” In late May, Julian Casablancas and friends traveled to Tenerife—a Spanish island off the coast of Morocco—to meet up with Walton Goggins on location to shoot. In May, The Strokes debuted “Falling out of Love” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, playing one of the show’s final music performances. The Strokes are a band from New York City. Since their 2001 debut, their beloved discography has defined the sound of a generation.

Reality Awaits album cover art — Untitled (Cowboy) 1989 courtesy of Richard Prince

REALITY AWAITS TRACK LIST 1. Psycho Shit 2. Dine N’Dash 3. Lonely in the Future 4. Falling out of Love 5. Going to Babble On 6. Going Shopping 7. Liar’s Remorse 8. The Fruits of Conquest 9. Tyrants of the Mellow Moon THE STROKES LIVE October 6—London, U.K.—The O2§ [SOLD OUT] October 7—London, U.K.—The O2§ [SOLD OUT] October 11—Amsterdam, NL—Ziggo Dome§ [SOLD OUT] October 13—Dusseldorf, DE—PSD Bank Dome§ [SOLD OUT] October 15—Berlin, DE—Uber Arena§ [SOLD OUT] October 17—Bologna, IT—Unipol Arena§ [SOLD OUT] October 20—Barcelona, ES—Palau Sant Jordi§ [SOLD OUT] October 22—Paris, FR—Accor Arena§ [SOLD OUT] October 25—Newcastle, U.K.—Utilita Arena§ [SOLD OUT] October 26—Manchester, U.K.—Co-op Live§ [SOLD OUT] October 28—Dublin, IE—3Arena§ [SOLD OUT] November 20—Lima, PE—Estadio Universidad San Marcos» November 22—Mexico City, MX—Corona Capital November 24—Quito, EC—Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa November 27—Santiago, CL—Primavera Sound Fauna November 29—Buenos Aires, AR—Primavera Sound Buenos Aires December 2—Bogotá, CO—Coliseo Medplus± December 5—São Paulo, BR—Primavera Sound São Paulo February 13—Brisbane, AUS—Brisbane Entertainment Centre* February 16—Melbourne, AUS—Rob Laver Arena* February 17—Melbourne, AUS—Rob Laver Arena* February 20—Sydney, AUS—Centennial Park† §with Fat White Family and Alex Cameron »with Future Islands ±with Courtney Barnett *with Courtney Barnett and Promiseland †with Beck, Courtney Barnett and Promiseland