The Strokes bring out Charli XCX for surprise Outside Lands duet
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The Strokes brought out surprise guest Charli XCX during their headline set at San Francisco's Outside Lands festival on Saturday, with the pair performing "Take It or Leave It" together, the closing track from the Strokes' 2001 album Is This It. The cameo capped a weekend in which both acts appeared at the festival, following Charli's own headline slot there the previous night, and played on a good-natured rivalry between the two artists.
Frontman Julian Casablancas introduced Charli XCX by noting that both acts had released new albums on the same day in July—the Strokes' Reality Awaits and Charli's Music, Fashion, Film—joking that she had "defeated" the band in sales and dubbing her "the new queen of everything". It was their second collaboration, following Casablancas's feature on a reworked version of "Mean Girls" for Charli's remix album Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat. Both acts have further dates ahead, with Charli next headlining the UK's Reading and Leeds festivals and the Strokes heading to Japan for Summer Sonic in Tokyo and Osaka.
- Charli XCX joined the Strokes for a surprise Outside Lands duet
- They performed "Take It or Leave It" after both topped charts in July
- Casablancas jokingly crowned her victor of their album sales battle
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The Strokes are an American rock band formed in New York in 1998, fronted by Julian Casablancas, best known for their 2001 debut album Is This It. Charli XCX is a British pop singer and songwriter who has become a major festival headliner, particularly following the success of her 2024 album Brat. Both acts performed at Outside Lands, a music festival held annually in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
The two artists have crossed paths before: Casablancas contributed vocals to a remixed version of Charli XCX's song "Mean Girls" on one of her Brat remix albums. Coincidentally, both acts released new studio albums on the same day in July 2026 – the Strokes' Reality Awaits and Charli XCX's Music, Fashion, Film – which has fed a good-natured back-and-forth between them about whose record sold better.
The story matters mainly as a moment of connection between two artists from different musical worlds, rock and pop, whose fanbases don't always overlap, and it reflects the collaborative, cross-genre culture of large US summer festivals where acts often appear as surprise guests during each other's sets.
More coverage
- Stereogum — Charli XCX Joins The Strokes At Outside Lands
- Consequence — The Strokes Bring Out Charli xcx at Outside Lands for “Take It or Leave It”: Watch
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Originally published by Rolling Stone as “See Charli XCX Join the Strokes for ‘Take It or Leave It’ at Outside Lands”.