The Strokes

By BJ Heinley

The New York band that brought guitar rock back in 2001: seven albums, from Is This It to Reality Awaits, with the same five since 1998.

Key Moments

The Strokes form in New York (1998): Nikolai Fraiture joins on bass; at the end of the year Albert Hammond Jr. joins on guitar, the last to join. The lineup has never changed since.
First show as the Strokes, at The Spiral (September 14, 1999): Their first show under the name, at The Spiral in Manhattan.
Is This It (October 9, 2001): Their debut album. It came out first in Australia (July 2001), then Japan and the UK (August), then the US.
The comeback begins in Los Angeles (May 2019): Their first show in over two years, a benefit in Los Angeles, where “The Adults Are Talking” is played for the first time. A global comeback tour follows.
The New Abnormal (April 10, 2020): Their sixth album, on RCA and Cult. It wins the Grammy for Best Rock Album.
Grammy: Best Rock Album (March 14, 2021): The New Abnormal wins Best Rock Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, the band’s first Grammy.
Reality Awaits (July 24, 2026): Their seventh album, on RCA and Cult, delayed from June 26.
Homecoming in Queens (October 2, 2026): A homecoming concert in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, New York City, with Beach House, TV on the Radio and Fcukers.

Every event

Julian Casablancas is born (August 23, 1978): Born on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Nikolai Fraiture is born (November 13, 1978): Born in New York City.
Albert Hammond Jr. is born (April 9, 1980): Born in Los Angeles.
Fabrizio Moretti is born (June 2, 1980): Born in Rio de Janeiro.
Nick Valensi is born (January 16, 1981): Born in New York City.
An informal band at Dwight School (1997): Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi and Fabrizio Moretti, classmates at Dwight School in Manhattan, start playing together.
Albert Hammond Jr. joins the band (1998): Invited to play with them at the end of 1998, the last member to join.
The Strokes form in New York (1998): Nikolai Fraiture joins on bass; at the end of the year Albert Hammond Jr. joins on guitar, the last to join. The lineup has never changed since.
First show as the Strokes, at The Spiral (September 14, 1999): Their first show under the name, at The Spiral in Manhattan.
Meet producer Gordon Raphael (2000): After a show at Luna Lounge they connect with the producer Gordon Raphael.
The Modern Age (January 29, 2001): Their debut EP, on Rough Trade. It sets off a bidding war among the major labels, which RCA wins.
Hard to Explain (June 25, 2001): The lead single from Is This It.
First magazine cover: The Fader (August 2001): Their first appearance on a magazine cover, in The Fader’s ninth issue.
Is This It (October 9, 2001): Their debut album. It came out first in Australia (July 2001), then Japan and the UK (August), then the US.
Last Nite (October 23, 2001): The second single from Is This It (US; the UK followed on November 5).
Headlining the Carling Weekend festivals (August 2002): Their second time at the top of the bill at the UK’s Carling Weekend festivals.
Someday (August 5, 2002): The third and final single from Is This It.
12:51 (October 6, 2003): The first single from Room on Fire.
Room on Fire (October 28, 2003): Their second album.
Late Night with Conan O’Brien (November 2003): A television appearance soon after Room on Fire came out.
Reptilia (February 9, 2004): The second single from Room on Fire.
“Wait”, with Ben Kweller (October 2005): A Beatles song, recorded with Ben Kweller for the tribute album This Bird Has Flown.
Juicebox (October 3, 2005): The lead single from First Impressions of Earth (US; the UK and Australia in December).
Guitar on Regina Spektor’s “Better” (2006): On her album Begin to Hope.
You Only Live Once (2006): The third and final single from First Impressions of Earth.
First Impressions of Earth (January 3, 2006): Their third album.
NME Award: Best International Band (February 2006): They win Best International Band at the NME Awards.
Heart in a Cage (March 20, 2006): A single from First Impressions of Earth, released in the UK.
Yours to Keep (October 9, 2006): His first solo album, in the UK (the discography gives October 6); North America followed on March 6, 2007.
A Kind of Dream (2007): He writes the music for the film, and stars in it.
Little Joy (2007): With Rodrigo Amarante, whom he met at a festival in Lisbon in 2006, and Binki Shapiro, he forms Little Joy.
Megapuss: Surfing (2008): Megapuss, with Devendra Banhart.
¿Cómo Te Llama? (July 7, 2008): His second solo album.
Little Joy: Little Joy (November 4, 2008): The band’s only album, on Rough Trade.
Cult Records (2009): He founds his own label, later home to the Voidz, Albert Hammond Jr.’s AHJ EP and the Strokes themselves.
Sober (2009): He goes into rehab, and has been sober since.
Nickel Eye: The Time of the Assassins (January 27, 2009): His own album, as Nickel Eye, on Rykodisc.
The end of the “hibernation” (March 31, 2009): After a long break, the band announces on MySpace that their “much needed hibernation period” is over.
11th Dimension (October 2, 2009): His first solo single, from Phrazes for the Young.
Phrazes for the Young (November 3, 2009): His solo debut (the UK had it on November 2). He tours it with a band called the Sick Six from November 2009 to July 2010.
“I Wish It Was Christmas Today” on Late Night (December 21, 2009): He plays his Christmas song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Guitar on Sia’s We Are Born (2010): He plays on the album; in 2014 he co-writes “Hostage” on her 1000 Forms of Fear.
Joe Chiccarelli to produce the fourth album (February 1, 2010): They announce the producer for the album that becomes Angles.
Under Cover of Darkness (February 9, 2011): The first single from Angles, a free download for 48 hours.
Angles (March 22, 2011): Their fourth album, finished at Albert Hammond Jr.’s home studio in upstate New York.
Headlining Coachella and Jazz Fest (May 2011): Back on stage for Angles: they headline Coachella and the New Orleans Jazz Fest, then Benicàssim, Oxegen, Paléo and Super Bock Super Rock in July, and Reading and Summer Sonic in August.
Taken for a Fool (May 24, 2011): The second single from Angles, sent to US radio; its video followed on July 8.
Saturday Night Live, with Arcade Fire and Mick Jagger (May 19, 2012): He plays bass for them on the season finale.
CRX (2013): He co-founds the band CRX in Los Angeles.
Julian Casablancas + the Voidz (2013): He forms a new band alongside the Strokes.
All the Time (February 19, 2013): The first single from Comedown Machine.
A “media blackout” for Comedown Machine (March 26, 2013): The fifth album comes out with no television, no interviews, no shows and no tour.
Comedown Machine (March 26, 2013): Their fifth album.
AHJ (October 8, 2013): An EP, on Julian Casablancas’s label Cult.
They will “return to the scene” in 2014 (October 15, 2013): The band says it will come back to the stage the next year.
First US show in three years (May 2014): At the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. That summer they headline the Governors Ball in New York and FYF Fest in Los Angeles.
Julian Casablancas + the Voidz: Tyranny (September 23, 2014): The new band’s first album, on Cult.
British Summer Time, Hyde Park (June 18, 2015): The band’s first London show in five years. The same year: Primavera Sound, Shaky Knees and Austin City Limits.
Momentary Masters (July 31, 2015): His third solo album.
Summer Moon (2016): He starts a new band. Its albums: With You Tonight (2017), Casino Days (2023) and Dancing on a Moonbeam (2024).
Culture Void on Sirius XMU (May 2016): He hosts his own radio show until February 2017.
“Oblivius” premieres on Culture Void (May 26, 2016): Julian Casablancas plays the new song on his own Sirius XMU show, a week before Future Present Past.
Future Present Past (June 3, 2016): An EP on Cult, Julian Casablancas’s label.
Headlining the Governors Ball (June 3, 2016): The Future Present Past EP comes out to coincide with the show, on Cult, the label they have now signed to.
Splendour in the Grass (July 22, 2016): At Byron Bay, Australia.
CRX: New Skin (October 28, 2016): CRX’s first album; its lead single, “Ways to Fake It”, came out on September 7.
South America: “biggest show ever” (2017): Early in the year: Estéreo Picnic, Lollapalooza Brasil, Chile and Argentina, where they play to a reported 90,000 people. Nikolai Fraiture calls it their biggest show ever.
Simply the Voidz (December 8, 2017): The band drops his name from its own.
Machinegum (2018): He starts leading the band Machinegum; their debut, Conduit, comes out in December 2019, and they sign to Frenchkiss in February 2020.
Francis Trouble (March 9, 2018): His fourth solo album.
The Voidz: Virtue (March 30, 2018): The Voidz’ second album.
CRX: Peek (2019): CRX’s second album.
The Voidz with Mac DeMarco (2019): “Did My Best” and “The Eternal Tao”.
Arts Elektra at the World Trade Center (April 2019): With his brother Pierre, Arts Elektra is the first act at the World Trade Center’s new arts space.
The comeback begins in Los Angeles (May 2019): Their first show in over two years, a benefit in Los Angeles, where “The Adults Are Talking” is played for the first time. A global comeback tour follows.
“In Passing” at Sotheby’s (December 2019): An exhibition of his art, “Fabrizio Moretti x Fabrizio Moretti In Passing”, at Sotheby’s New York.
New Year’s Eve in Brooklyn (December 31, 2019): Casablancas tells the crowd the sixth album is coming in 2020; “Ode to the Mets” is played for the first time.
A Bernie Sanders rally, and The New Abnormal announced (February 10, 2020): At the University of New Hampshire, where they announce the album and its date.
At the Door (February 11, 2020): The lead single from The New Abnormal.
Bad Decisions (February 18, 2020): The second single from The New Abnormal.
The New Abnormal (April 10, 2020): Their sixth album, on RCA and Cult. It wins the Grammy for Best Rock Album.
Saturday Night Live (October 31, 2020): Their fourth time on the show, with John Mulaney hosting.
Grammy: Best Rock Album (March 14, 2021): The New Abnormal wins Best Rock Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, the band’s first Grammy.
The “Kube” (December 2021): He designs and builds an installation, the Kube.
Opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers (2022): After headlining Lollapalooza in Brazil, Chile and Argentina, they open the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Global Stadium Tour that summer, and play more of its dates in 2023.
Recording with Rick Rubin in Costa Rica (October 2022): Rick Rubin says he has been recording with them in Costa Rica.
The first Lollapalooza India (2023): In Mumbai.
The Singles – Volume 1 (February 24, 2023): A box of ten 7-inch singles.
On Daft Punk’s “Infinity Repeating” (May 12, 2023): Julian Casablancas and the Voidz on a Daft Punk song from 2013, released at last.
Melodies on Hiatus (June 23, 2023): His fifth solo album.
CRX: Interiors (2024): An EP.
The Voidz: Like All Before You (September 20, 2024): The Voidz’ third album.
Headlining Austin City Limits (2025): Both weekends of the festival, that fall.
The Voidz: Megz of Ram (July 2025): An EP. (The Voidz’ page says July 29, his own page July 31.)
Harvest Rock, Adelaide (October 2025): Their first show in Australia in over three years.
Coachella again (April 2026): The festival’s second weekend, their first Coachella since headlining it in 2011.
Reality Awaits announced (April 6, 2026): The seventh album is announced for June 26, with “Going Shopping” the same day.
Going Shopping (April 7, 2026): The lead single from Reality Awaits. (The band’s page puts it on April 6, the day the album was announced.)
Falling Out of Love (May 13, 2026): The second single from Reality Awaits.
Nick Valensi steps back from the tour (May 15, 2026): He will miss the Reality Awaits tour “because of personal reasons”; Steve Schiltz of Longwave fills in.
Reality Awaits moved to July 24 (June 11, 2026): The release is pushed back from June 26.
The Reality Awaits Tour opens at Bonnaroo (June 12, 2026): A headline at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee, their first since 2011.
“In Transit: Part II” (July 24, 2026): A short documentary, on YouTube the day the album comes out.
Reality Awaits (July 24, 2026): Their seventh album, on RCA and Cult, delayed from June 26.
Outside Lands, with Charli XCX (August 8, 2026): They headline in San Francisco, and Charli XCX joins them for “Take It or Leave It”. Later that month, at Summer Sonic in Japan, “Lonely in the Future” is played live for the first time.
Homecoming in Queens (October 2, 2026): A homecoming concert in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, New York City, with Beach House, TV on the Radio and Fcukers.

Eras

Beginnings (1997–2001): Three Dwight School classmates, then Nikolai Fraiture and, at the end of 1998, Albert Hammond Jr.: the lineup that has never changed. First show at The Spiral in 1999.
Breakthrough (2001–2006): The Modern Age EP sets off a bidding war; RCA signs them; Is This It, Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth follow, with festival headlines in between.
Hiatus (2007–2009): A long break after the 2006 tours, ended by a MySpace post in March 2009.
Return (2009–2019): Angles, Comedown Machine and the Future Present Past EP, the last on Julian Casablancas’s label Cult.
The New Abnormal (2020–now): A sixth album that wins the band its first Grammy, then Reality Awaits in 2026.

The Strokes

Key Moments

Every event

Eras

Sources

Original Horizontal (Phone) · mockup