# The Strokes close Coachella set with video accusing the CIA and showing war imagery
Event date: 2026-04-18
The Strokes used the end of their Coachella set to deliver a political message, pairing a live performance of “Oblivius” with a video montage accusing the CIA of regime change and showing images tied to Gaza and Iran.
The Independent reported that the band played the song live for the first time in a decade and layered the performance with a fast-moving sequence of violent imagery on the festival’s LED screens. Frontman Julian Casablancas repeatedly asked, “What side are you standing on?” as the visuals played out.
According to the source, the montage alleged that the CIA had been linked to the deaths of foreign political figures including Omar Torrijos, Jacobo Árbenz and Jaime Roldós Aguilera. It also repeated a claim often associated with conspiracy theories about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. That made the sequence more than a simple protest clip; it was presented as a sweeping accusation about political violence and historical power.
The video then cut to more recent conflict imagery. The Independent said it concluded with footage of Israel bombing Gaza and the United States bombing Iran, plus captions reading that more than 30 universities had been destroyed in Iran and that Gaza was down to its last university. Those lines turned the band’s stage visuals into a direct statement about war and civilian infrastructure.
Casablancas kept the moment focused on the song’s refrain, repeating the question until the video abruptly ended and the band walked off. The Independent said the group did not return after the set, so the performance closed on a deliberately abrupt note rather than a standard encore or farewell.
The band had already hinted at political criticism during the first weekend of Coachella, when Casablancas joked about the military draft and mocked Donald Trump’s administration. This second-weekend statement was more confrontational and more explicit, and it pushed the performance into outright protest territory.
The Independent said the video was shown in full on Coachella’s official livestream, which means the message was not limited to the crowd in the desert. It reached the festival’s broader online audience as a complete segment of the live set.
The report also placed the moment in a wider festival context. It noted that Coachella had already seen overt political messaging from other acts in previous years, including Kneecap’s Gaza-focused protest at an earlier edition. That comparison helped frame The Strokes’ set as part of a broader pattern of artists using major festival stages to make explicit political statements.
What stood out here was the mix of old and new references. The CIA allegations reached back decades, while the war imagery and university captions connected the band to current conflict. The result was a performance that moved between historical accusation and present-day protest without trying to soften either.
For Coachella, the set became one of the most talked-about moments of the weekend. For The Strokes, it was a reminder that a festival slot can still be used as a stage for confrontation rather than nostalgia alone.
