The Strokes in Vancouver: What to know about the concert

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Having just played the first weekend of this year’s Coachella music festival and announcing the new album, Reality Awaits, The Strokes have confirmed a global tour.

The New York quintet, formed in 1998, were a leading group in the early-2000s rock music revival alongside groups such as White Stripes, The Killers and Arctic Monkeys. Following immediate success with its debut album, Is This It, The Strokes enjoyed a devoted fan following and love affair with music media outlets.

This early success would fail to be matched by subsequent recordings and the band took a five year hiatus following the group’s third album, First Impressions of Earth.

During this break, lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas and guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. pursued solo projects with mixed results. In 2011, The Strokes returned with Angels and followed with 2013s Comedown Machine. The band would step back from recording and performing for the better part of the next decade.

Star resuscitator Rick Rubin produced the band’s “comeback” The New Abnormal in 2020. Generally considered the best thing the band had recorded since its hit debut, the album went on to win best rock album at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

Rubin also produced Reality Awaits, which is due to be released on June 26 on Cult Records/RCA Records. The band has also dropped a mellow new single titled Going Shopping.