The Strokes have returned to Coachella after a 15-year absence, with Julian Casablancas making a subtle dig at Jeff Bezos – check out footage below.
The NYC indie heroes are preparing to release their Rick Rubin-produced seventh studio album ‘Reality Awaits’ in June (pre-order here) and have already shared the lead single ‘Going Shopping’.
On Saturday night (April 11), they took to the festival’s main stage, ahead of headliner Justin Bieber, in their first appearance at the California festival since their own time topping the bill in 2011.
Frontman Casablancas made a wry dig at 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 quipped with the crowd that he was “here for Bieber too”, saying he was not being paid for the show, but was instead offered to “stand off to the side of the stage” to watch his set.
‘Going Shopping’ was included in a setlist that otherwise saw the band reach into their back catalogue, with ‘Is This It’ and ‘Room On Fire’ both featuring heavily. Check out footage from their performance here:
One of the greatest songs of all time
The Strokes – Reptilia (Coachella 2026) pic.twitter.com/rV7863RRoM
— zelda (@bbzeldy) April 12, 2026
WHEN YOU FIND OUT YOUR GOATS STILL HAVE IT 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/OkEZ9Mmlu6
— ruby #IAMGOINGSHOPPING (@rubysonfire) April 12, 2026
“Eu sei por que vocês estão aqui. Eu acordei hoje de manhã em um hotel aqui perto, e tinha um cara sarado, sem camisa, e ele estava do lado de fora do meu quarto gritando: “JUSTIN BIEBEEEEER!” Eu estou aqui pelo Bieber também, honestamente. Eles nem me pagaram; disseram que eu… pic.twitter.com/VEmPBUuJZV
— Julian Casablancas Brasil (@casablancasfcbr) April 12, 2026
The Strokes played:
‘Bad Decisions’
‘Hard To Explain’
‘Selfless’
‘Someday’
‘Going Shopping’
‘Juicebox’
‘Last Nite’
‘Under Control’
‘You Only Live Once’
‘The Adults Are Talking’
‘New York City Cops’
‘Reptilia’
‘Automatic Stop’
‘Take It Or Leave It’
‘What Ever Happened?’
In an interview in 2024, Casablancas shared a similar statement with NME about the billionaire class, in reference to The Voidz song ‘Flexorcist’, a song he said explored “the idea of the warlord, billionaire entity oppressing and being good at gaining wealth, and the struggle of individuals to gather and group against that type of people”.
“The main weapon of these ‘bad guy’ people – billionaires trying to pay no taxes – is distraction,” Casablancas says. “And it’s a long, complicated, indirect chain of exploitation, so it’s not really easy to pinpoint who’s doing what damage. What bums me out is people love to talk on a daily basis about the distractions that are being fed to us and I’m just so over it and so fed up with it. I don’t know if it’s the convenience or the cosiness and the professional fonts of a nice newspaper, or the magical Superman lights of CNN, but the fact we can’t unchain ourselves from this song or [stop being] hypnotised by this nonsense is the biggest challenge and biggest confusion I have.”
NME gave the ‘Going Shopping’ single a three-star review, writing: “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.”
After Coachella, The Strokes will be playing at Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Japan’s Summer Sonic and more festivals, with more dates expected to be announced soon.
