With Coachella’s final weekend wrapping up last weekend, one artist’s performance stirred both controversy and praise on social media.
The Strokes is a 5-man band led by singer-songwriter Julian Casablancas. The New York natives took to the stage on April 17 and 18, set to perform right before main headliner, Justin Bieber. While The Strokes have been in the music scene since the late 90’s, they’ve recently garnered a sizable cult following among younger audiences. Their popular hits among young folks include their release of “The Adults Are Talking” in 2020.
While they performed amazingly, the different way they addressed the crowd stood out most.
Between songs, the lead singer commented and joked about recent real-world events. Casablanca brought up topics such as the recent expansion of the Selective Service draft ages. While e made these comments as jokes to engage with the crowd, many online noted this wasn’t unusual. The Strokes have a reputation for commenting on political and social issues. Initially, people chalked up the lead singer’s comments as simply that and didn’t think much of it.
However, the most significant event happened at the end of the set of their performance on April 18. As they performed “Oblivius,” a song condemning capitalism and societal apathy, they showed slides of social and political leaders many suspected the CIA and US intervention had killed. While Casablancas continuously sings the question, “What side are you standing on?”, the band also showed multiple clips of the Gaza war and historical images of the US’ imperial actions.
Here is what The Strokes did and how it should go down in history as one of the most important protests by a musical band of our times: https://t.co/jL7UytwBgj pic.twitter.com/fTJNmRpzSm
— Containeristan (@guldaar) April 19, 2026
While not uncommon for rock bands to leave political statements in their music, The Strokes’ political messaging at Coachella made it even more meaningful.
Although Coachella started out as just another music festival, recent years have shown that’s turned into an “influencer” playground rather than a festival. The outrageously high prices to enter the venue clearly signal that there’s a certain type of privileged person who can afford to enjoy this festival.
While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to escape from the horrors persisting in our reality, the typical person can’t afford to get barricade spots at Coachella. The band made a clear statement to those in attendance that there are still atrocities happening across the world – and they cannot keep ignoring them.
The general response from social media was incredibly positive, with praise coming from both small and large accounts. In an era where society reprimands fans for wanting artists to speak out on social issues, it sparked a discussion on modern artists and activism.
While it’s natural to want to defend and justify your favorite artist when they stay quiet on issues they could speak out on, The Strokes showed that there’s no excuse for refusing to use your platform.
Featured image via The Strokes live at Stubb’s March 14th night before SXSW by Matt
