Strokes' Coachella Protest

The Strokes ended their Coachella Weekend 2 set Saturday night with a giant-screen video condemning bombings in Iran and Gaza. (variety.com) The band played the Coachella Stage at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on April 18, 2026, before Justin Bieber’s headlining slot. Their closing song was “Oblivius,” which setlist.fm listed as the song’s first live performance since 2016. (setlist.fm) Variety reported that the montage showed footage labeled “Over 30 universities destroyed in Iran” and “Last university standing in Gaza,” after a longer sequence about alleged Central Intelligence Agency coups and other U.S. actions abroad. NBC’s local New York station, citing the same performance, said the visuals also targeted what the band described as U.S. and Israeli military action in Iran and Gaza. (variety.com) (nbcnewyork.com) The performance landed in the middle of a festival already built around livestreams, instant clips, and repeat weekends, where changes from April 11 to April 18 are quickly noticed online. Loudwire noted that the band’s first Coachella set a week earlier had a lighter tone, making the second-weekend finale a clear shift. (loudwire.com) Coachella has long hosted political statements, but this one came from a top-billed rock act on the main stage during one of Weekend 2’s biggest sets. NME reported that the montage directly called out the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. government as the band closed. (nme.com) The imagery also tied the set to two live wars that have dominated international headlines in 2026. Variety described the Iran footage as showing recent U.S. bombings, while multiple outlets said the Gaza footage showed the destruction of a large building identified onscreen as the enclave’s last remaining university. (variety.com) (independent.co.uk) Frontman Julian Casablancas underscored the message with the repeated line “What side you standing on?” during “Oblivius,” according to Variety’s account of the set. The song choice mattered because the band had not played it live in a decade, turning the closer into both a musical deep cut and a political statement. (variety.com) (setlist.fm) By Sunday and Monday, coverage of The Strokes’ set had spread from music press to general-news outlets, pushing a late-night festival performance into a wider argument over war, U.S. power, and what belongs on a concert stage. (variety.com) (nbcnewyork.com)