The Strokes call out U.S. foreign intervention during Coachella set

The band made a statement against the CIA and Gaza genocide during their weekend 2 performance at the Indio festival.

By Miranda Wollen  |  April 20, 2026 | 8:00am
Photo by Brandon Densley
Music News The Strokes
The Strokes call out U.S. foreign intervention during Coachella set

When the Strokes performed at Coachella on Saturday, the rock band used their platform to make a statement against U.S. intervention in foreign countries. They closed up their set with Future Present Past track “Oblivius”—which they have not performed live since 2016—and a video montage featuring clips of Middle East bombings, slavery, and U.S. missile strikes. The song timely features the repeated chorus: “What side you standing on?”

As Julian Casablancas sang the track, a backdrop featuring a mosque and a collection of screens showing a chronology of American sins around the world. The videos accused the CIA of impelling regime changes in Chile, Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and elsewhere, and included the names of those countries’ overthrown (and/or assassinated) leaders: onetime Iranian prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh, former Chilean president Salvador Allende, former Panamanian president Omar Torrijos, and former Bolivian president Juan José Torres. 

Captions noted the years of their death or alleged overthrowings. A later part of the montage included a large photo of Frederick Douglass. Another accusation levied against the government consisted of an image of Martin Luther King, Jr. alongside the caption “USGOVT found guilty of his murder in civil trial”—in reference to a 1999 civil trial in which a jury decided the government had conspired to assassinate King. The montage concluded with a series of videos showing recent American bombings in the Middle East, alongside a message reading “Over 30 universities destroyed in Iran,” and a video showing a Palestinian building being destroyed by an explosion, and a caption that read: “Last university standing in Gaza.” 

Last year, Northern Irish rap group Kneecap said, “Israel is committing Genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. Fuck Israel Free Palestine,” during their Coachella performance. After the festival, the band claimed that their pro-Palestine messages were cut from the festival’s livestream. This time, Coachella aired the Strokes’ performance in full. During the Strokes’ weekend 1 performance, Casablancas wore a T-shirt with the word “crime,” in e-commerce giant Amazon-style font, written across the front. In 2021, he signed a “Musicians for Palestine” letter. The Strokes start their world tour in June.

 
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