The Strokes bring out Charli XCX for surprise Outside Lands duet
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The Strokes brought out Charli XCX as a surprise guest during their headline set at Outside Lands festival in San Francisco 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 highlighted a friendly rivalry between the two artists.
Frontman Julian Casablancas introduced Charli XCX by referencing the fact that both acts 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 marks their second collaboration, after Casablancas featured on a reworked version of "Mean Girls" for Charli's remix album Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat. Charli XCX is next set to headline the UK's Reading and Leeds festivals, while the Strokes head to Japan for the Summer Sonic festivals in Tokyo and Osaka.
- Charli XCX joined the Strokes onstage at Outside Lands festival
- Duo performed "Take It or Leave It"; Casablancas joked about album sales rivalry
- Second collaboration after their "Mean Girls" remix together
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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”.