New York City-based rock crew The Strokes are awaiting the release of their first album in five years. To celebrate the effort — and launch a 2011 calendar filled with high-profile performances — the band has planned a blowout hometown concert.
The critically acclaimed rock quintet, fronted by Julian Casablancas, will headline an April Fool’s Day show at the 20,000-capacity Madison Square Garden Arena. The show is a much larger affair than The Strokes’ usual mid-sized club and theatre shows, and Rolling Stone marks it as the band’s biggest NYC event to date.
Tickets for the April1 concert go on sale to the public February 25. All levels of seating at the Garden have been priced at $54.50 (before fees) for the event, according to Ticketmaster.com.
Before the arena show in April, The Strokes will play to a much smaller, sold-out audience at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, NV. That event, which also features Devendra Banhart and The Grogs, goes down March 12.
The alt-rock crew also has a few high-profile performances lined up for later in the season, including an April 17 set at the Coachella Festival in Indio, CA, and a May 7 performance at Jazz Fest in New Orleans, LA. The band has also been tapped to play this year’s Bonnaroo, though an exact set date during the June 9-12 festival has not been confirmed.
The Strokes are presently awaiting the release of their fourth studio album, “Angles,” which is slated to hit stores March 22. It will be the band’s first record in more than five years, following the January 2006 effort “First Impressions of Earth.”
Since that album dropped, the band’s members have worked separately for the most part. In the past five years, every member of the group (except guitiarist Nick Valensi) has released a full-length album on their own or with a side-project.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, published at the start of the year, the band’s members voiced full commitment to their 2011 comeback. “We want to come back strong but slowly, so we can grow live and also make new music,” guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. was quoted. “We want to release albums quicker.”
Although The Strokes will perform on several large U.S. stages in the spring and summer, the full scope of their comeback tour remains unknown. On his Twitter account, Wiz Kid Management CEO and band manager Ryan Gentles responded to a fan question on the subject, stating that “ALL tour plans” are “still pending” for the group.
The Strokes itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)
| March 12 | Las Vegas, NV | The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan |
| April 1 | New York, NY | Madison Square Garden Arena |
| April 17 | Indio, CA | Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival |
| May 7 | New Orleans, LA | New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival |
| June 9 – 12 | Manchester, TN | Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival * |
* Daily schedule not yet released.