The Strokes « Reality Awaits »

The Strokes bring Reality Awaits to Co-op Live in Manchester on 26 October 2026. Since forming in New York in 1998, Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond Jr., Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti have shaped a lean, tight take on indie rock: interlaced guitars up front, a rhythm section that goes straight to the point, and a vocal line that keeps its cool. From the early spark of The Modern Age and Is This It through Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth, the group pushed concise songwriting without losing bite. Later albums Angles and Comedown Machine opened the door to new wave and synth-tinged textures, a path extended on The New Abnormal, produced by Rick Rubin.

On stage, that trajectory turns into a set that moves between sharp early riffs and more melodic, pulsing tracks from the last decade, with the band’s New York pulse as a steady thread. Reality Awaits is a chance to hear how these periods connect live, carried by a chemistry honed in small rooms and on big festival stages.