The Strokes close Coachella set with a protest video calling out US and Israeli actions in Gaza and Iran
The band wrapped their performance with a stark video montage touching on CIA operations, foreign interventions, and civilian casualties
At a glance
What matters most
- The Strokes concluded their Coachella performance with a video accusing the CIA of long-term interference in foreign governments.
- The montage highlighted civilian impacts from bombings in Gaza and Iran, drawing connections between U.S. and Israeli military actions.
- The moment drew sharp reactions, with some praising the band's stance and others calling it inappropriate for a music festival.
- The protest aligns with frontman Julian Casablancas's history of political commentary through music and public statements.
Across the spectrum
What people are saying
A quick look at how the same story is being framed from different angles.
On the Left
Artists have a responsibility to speak up when governments cause harm, especially with the platform festivals like Coachella provide. The Strokes highlighted real, documented actions - from CIA coups to civilian deaths - that rarely make mainstream conversation. Silence benefits power; moments like this challenge it.
In the Center
Musicians have always engaged with politics, but the setting matters. Coachella is a space for celebration and escape for many. While the video raised important historical points, the lack of context or dialogue may limit its impact and risk alienating audiences who might otherwise engage with the issues.
On the Right
Festivals should be about music, not political lectures. The Strokes used a moment of entertainment to push a one-sided, anti-American narrative that oversimplifies complex foreign policy. Artists are entitled to their views, but turning a concert into a protest risks preaching to the choir and dividing fans.
Full coverage
What you should know
The Strokes wrapped up their second weekend Coachella set on Saturday night with a quiet but forceful political statement - not through a song, but through a video montage that played as the crowd began to disperse. As the final chords faded, a black-and-white sequence lit up the main stage screen, weaving together archival footage, declassified documents, and images of civilian life disrupted by conflict in Gaza and Iran.
The video traced decades of U.S. foreign policy, focusing on CIA-led regime changes and military interventions. It made direct reference to recent bombings, linking American support for Israeli actions to broader patterns of intervention. One frame showed a map with locations from Chile to Iran, each marked with dates and brief descriptions of covert operations. Another displayed children in rubble, with text reading simply: 'Who pays the price?'
Julian Casablancas, the band's frontman, offered no verbal commentary. The band walked offstage as the video played, leaving the message to stand on its own. Fans in the crowd reacted in different ways - some filmed in silence, others cheered, while a few voiced disapproval. By Sunday morning, clips were spreading widely online, with reactions split along familiar lines.
Conservative outlets framed the moment as a politicization of a cultural space, questioning whether a music festival was the place for such messaging. Liberal commentators, meanwhile, noted the long tradition of artists using visibility to spotlight injustice, pointing to past moments at Woodstock, Live Aid, and even recent Grammys speeches.
Still, the choice of targets - the CIA, U.S. foreign policy, and Israel's military actions - ensured the video would stir strong reactions. The band has hinted at these concerns before. Casablancas has criticized American imperialism in interviews and lyrics for years, and The Strokes' 2020 album 'The New Abnormal' carried subtle but clear political undercurrents.
Coachella organizers have not commented. The festival has hosted politically aware acts before, from Rage Against the Machine to Billie Eilish, but rarely one that closes its set with a direct, unspoken indictment of government actions. This time, the silence may have been the loudest part.
Whether seen as brave or divisive, the moment underscored how music festivals remain spaces where culture and politics don't just overlap - they collide.
About this author
Zwely News Staff compiles multi-source reporting into concise, viewpoint-aware coverage for readers who want context without noise.
Source Notes
The Strokes end Coachella weekend two set with politically charged video targeting CIA and US government
The Strokes appeared to take aim at the U.S. government during Coachella, closing their set with a video referencing the CIA, Gaza and Iran bombings.
The Strokes End Coachella Set With Video Condemning U.S. and Israeli Bombings in Iran and Gaza
The Strokes ended their performance on weekend 2 of Coachella on a note of political protest, capping the set with a video montage that accused the CIA of enacting regime change in foreign countries over the decades, finally concluding with...
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