The Strokes closed the What Stage at Bonnaroo on Friday (6/12), knocking out an 18-song set that stretched across all six of their albums as well as a pair from the forthcoming LP Reality Awaits.
One of those tunes even got its first proper live debut for the good people who made the pilgrimage to Manchester, Tennessee, for the beloved festival.
It was the NYC rockers' first full set since their controversial Coachella weekend two show, so all eyes were on them.
The live debut, "Falling Out of Love" had been performed twice before. The first was at a private political event five years ago for a NYC mayoral hopeful who did not make it past the primary.
That rendition was acoustic and different, and ultimately, it does not count in the eyes of this writer.
The second time, the heavily Auto-Tuned number was performed on one of the last Late Shows with Stephen Colbert.
Beautiful as it is, with romantic lyrics, they were forced to cut over a minute off the end of the song due to time constraints; it's the second single from the LP, due out in a little over a month.
So that one doesn't count either.
But what does count is the full version they played in Tennessee on Friday, after admitting they had done a shortened take on Colbert.
Singer Julian Casablancas has been experimenting with Auto-Tune for years, going back to 2019 with Voidz.
“When you do a melody with Auto-Tune, it’s almost a different melody," he told Rolling Stone seven years ago. "Ten percent of the melodies jump off to a new level with Auto-Tune.”
The band started the show with "Killing Lies" from their third album, First Impressions of Earth.
It was the first time they've played the tune since 2022 at the Celine fashion show at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. It seems like that show didn't make the best impression on the group since they discarded the song for so long.
The Strokes have just kicked off this tour that will find them traveling about, headlining two nights at Red Rocks, entertaining the fans at Outside Lands and other shows and fests through the summer.
In October, they do two nights at the O2 in London and then rock for audiences across the pond. Get your tickets on The Strokes website.
Strokes Reality Awaits 2026 World Tour
Monday (6/15) Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI
Wednesday (6/17) United Center, Chicago, IL
Friday (6/19) Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Sunday (6/21) RBC Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON, Canada
Tuesday (6/23) TD Garden, Boston, MA
Friday (6/26) TD Pavilion at the Mann, Philadelphia, PA
Saturday (6/27) Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
Sunday (7/12) Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, Richmond, VA
Tuesday (7/14) Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
Wednesday (7/15) Ruoff Music Center, Noblesville, IN
Friday (7/17) American Family Insurance Amphitheater, Milwaukee, WI
Sunday (7/19) Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, Saint Paul, MN
Wednesday (7/22) Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
Thursday (7/23) Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
Saturday (8/08) Outside Lands, San Francisco, CA
Friday (8/14) Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan
Saturday (8/15) Summer Sonic, Osaka, Japan
Saturday (8/22) Just Like Heaven, Pasadena, CA
Tuesday (8/25) Hayden Homes Amphitheater, Bend, OR
Thursday (8/27) Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Friday (8/28) Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Saturday (9/12) Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL
Sunday (9/13) Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, FL
Thursday (9/17) Truliant Amphitheater, Charlotte, NC
Friday (9/18) Shaky Knees Music Festival, Atlanta, GA
Sunday (9/20) Sea.Hear.Now Festival, Asbury Park, NJ
Tuesday (10/06) The O2, London, England
Wednesday (10/07) The O2, London, England
Sunday (10/11) Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tuesday (10/13) PSD Bank Dome, Düsseldorf, Germany
Thursday (10/15) Uber Arena, Berlin, Germany
Saturday (10/17) Unipol Arena, Bologna, Italy
Tuesday (10/20) Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
Thursday (10/22) Accor Arena, Paris, France
Sunday (10/25) Utilita Arena, Newcastle, England
Monday (10/26) Co-op Live, Manchester, England
Wednesday (10/28) 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
Sunday (11/22) Corona Capital, Mexico City, Mexico
Wednesday (12/02) Coliseo MedPlus, Bogotá, Colombia
