The Strokes + Rick Rubin

The Strokes have lined up a new Rick Rubin-produced album and a 2026 world tour, putting the band back into a full release cycle six years after its last LP. (newsroom.livenation.com) Live Nation said the tour was announced April 13 and runs from June through October across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan. The album, *Reality Awaits*, is due June 26 on Cult Records and RCA Records, and the lead single is “Going Shopping.” (newsroom.livenation.com) The first announced dates include Bonnaroo on June 12, arena and amphitheater stops in Detroit-area Clarkston, Chicago, Toronto and Boston in June, two nights at Red Rocks on July 22 and 23, and autumn shows at London’s The O2, Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome and Paris’ Accor Arena. Live Nation said presales begin April 15 and the general sale starts April 17. (newsroom.livenation.com) This is the band’s first album since *The New Abnormal*, which arrived in 2020. Live Nation said *Reality Awaits* was recorded in Costa Rica with Rubin and finished “around the globe,” after years in which the band mostly toured rather than released new studio work. (newsroom.livenation.com) Rubin’s name is part of the story beyond the album rollout. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced April 13 that he will enter its 2026 class in the Musical Excellence category, which honors producers, songwriters and musicians for their impact on recorded music. (prnewswire.com) The Hall of Fame’s 2026 class also includes Phil Collins, Oasis, Sade, Wu-Tang Clan, Iron Maiden, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order and Luther Vandross in the performer category. The induction ceremony is scheduled for November 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and will air later in December on American Broadcasting Company and Disney+. (prnewswire.com) For The Strokes, Rubin links a new album to a producer being formally honored in the same week. The band’s 2026 campaign also follows a return to major festival stages, with Live Nation citing Coachella, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Summer Sonic, Shaky Knees and Sea.Hear.Now on the schedule. (newsroom.livenation.com) The next fixed date is June 26, when *Reality Awaits* arrives and the tour hits Philadelphia the same day. By then, the band will have turned a single release, a global routing and Rubin’s Hall of Fame week into one coordinated comeback push. (newsroom.livenation.com)