The Strokes announce first UK gigs in three years including London date

The Strokes have announced their first UK gigs in three years including a performance at London’s The O2.

It comes after the New York indie rock band, fronted by Julian Casablancas, announced their first album in four years, named Reality Awaits, and released their first single since 2020 in Going Shopping last week.

As part of their Reality Awaits The World 2026 tour, The Strokes will perform at The O2 on October 6, Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on October 25 and Manchester’s Co-Op Arena on October 26, as well as Dublin’s 3Arena on October 28.

Support for the tour will alternate between London-formed band The Fat White Family, American rock band Cage The Elephant, US singer-songwriter Hamilton Leithauser, and singer Thundercat, with more names yet to be announced.

The Strokes will also perform dates in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bologna, Dusseldorf, Berlin and Paris.

It comes after the band, who last performed in the UK when they headlined London’s All Points East day festival in 2023, gave their new single its first live performance at a gig in San Francisco last week, before performing it at Coachella on Saturday.

Made up of singer Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr, bass player Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti, The Strokes have achieved two top 10 singles in the UK and six top 10 albums, including a number one with First Impressions Of Earth (2006).

Hammond Jr is the son of 1970s singer-songwriter Albert Hammond, best known in the UK for his hit single The Free Electric Band.

Their debut album Is This It, released in September 2001, is often credited for sparking a guitar music revival in the UK and US during the 2000s, with the record containing some of the band’s best known songs such as Last Nite, Someday and Hard To Explain.

The Strokes released their last album, The New Abnormal in April 2020, which contained singles such as The Adults Are Talking, Bad Decisions and At The Door.

Tickets for the tour will go to a presale at 10am on Wednesday for those who sign up on the band’s website, before a general sale on Friday.